Her Loving Nazi
by Marine L. Girard
Summary: DID NOT STEAL! I HAVE PERMISSION! Not all Nazis believed in Fuehrer Adolf Hitler. Some left him,some undermined and betrayed him. Only one had a different reason than the others. He risked everything and betrayed his country for a Gypsy girl. Zutara, AU.
1. 1 A Critical Decision

**A/N: No, this is not stolen, CowLick035 has given me permission to do this and finish it for him. I decided to start it over and add a bit more detail cause I thought it would be weird if the beginning of the story was less detailed than the rest of it. **

**Yes, I am aware that Zuko is a bit too young to be a Gunnery Sergeant even though I made him 24 in this story. I just decided he would have risen through the ranks exceedingly fast. A normal Gunny would be about 35 years old. Oops. I thought the idea of him betraying the Nazis at such a high enlisted rank would be better for the story than if he was just a new recruit. I think it makes more sense. Also, I am aware that Zhao was a Commander and then an Admiral in the show, but those were Navy ranks. In this story, he is in the army so the rank structure differs. A Lieutenant Colonel in the army is the same as a Commander in the Navy.**

**Another thing, people often assume that the Jews were the only people taken to Concentration Camps by the Nazis, this is not true. Gypsies were also taken, anyone who was not of the "superior" race, or not Arian (blue eyes, blonde hair), and suspected of treachery. This is what I know of World War Two.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Avatar, I would be the**** happiest person on the planet. Hell, I wouldn't even be in College right now if I did! But I am in college, I'm not happy, and I'm very, VERY poor. So if any of you even THINK for one second that I own this amazing cartoon, may I just say that you are the DUMBEST person on the planet! I just thought I would reiterrate that. Now, without further ado, I will let you enjoy the story!**

Chapter 1—A Critical Decision

The boy was nervous. Though a high-ranking enlisted serviceman in Nazi Germany, young Gunnery Sergeant Zuko could hardly enjoy his new job the Furer himself had given his platoon. The officer of the platoon who had received the orders personally was all too excited to carry them out, as were the rest of their men. Lieutenant Colonel Zhao, along with the third platoon of the thirteenth regiment was to raid a Gypsy encampment in Poland two weeks from the German boarder and take the prisoners to the nearest Concentration Camp. After all his years in service to Sacred Germany, never had he been asked to attack innocents and take them to a place worse than a war prison. Even now, as he was storming through the small encampment of poorly made houses, the young Gunny was having doubts about the mission he was already engaged in.

"Two men to a house!" he heard his officer call out to the ranks. The platoon split up, each holding their Car98's close to their chests in both hands. Lt. Colonel Zhao motioned for Zuko to follow him, and the young Gunny obediently followed. "You and I will take the last house on the right, understood?"

Zuko reluctantly nodded. "Yes, sir!" he replied and took off running down the street after the Lt. Colonel to the house mentioned. When they reached it, both men slammed their backs against the wall on either side of the front door. The Lt. Colonel looked his Gunny in the eye and nodded. "Ready?" he asked. Zuko nodded in return and Zhao took the opportunity to kick open the rotted wooded door and charge inside. Zuko was close behind him, his rifle held tightly in his hands, pointing the barrel in every nook and cranny of the house for anyone trying to hide.

"I'll check upstairs, sir!" Zuko yelled to Zhao as the officer in question barged into an adjacent room. Assuming the man had heard him, the young Gunny ran up the stairs to the shack-like house in search of the residents.

Zuko came across a hallway with three doors. Bursting into the first room, he saw two filthy looking cots and a dilapidated wardrobe but no Gypsies. Leaving the first room, he entered the second and found it similar to the first so he quickly left. When he arrived at the last door at the end of the hallway, he kicked it open, expecting to see nothing just like the first two. His expectation had been wrong however. As soon as the door opened, he looked around the room to find it the same as the first two but with two dark-skinned Gypsies on the last cot in the room.

One was a beautiful, young girl who looked to be only a few years younger than himself. She was sitting on the bed, her tan hands gripping the steel footboard of the cot so tightly, her knuckles were turning white. The other was a young boy about the same age as himself who was standing in front of the cot holding a small kitchen knife out in front of him as if to protect him and the girl behind him. Tears ran down both of their cheeks but the girl seemed to be crying the most. Her eyes were already swollen and puffy where as the boy's were not.

The boy was shaking, obviously a bit frightened, and he raised the knife higher when Zuko took a step closer. "Put the knife down," he told the tan boy as he tightened his grip on his rifle and held it closer to his side.

The boy did not comply but jumped when the Lt. Colonel called from below. "Is there anyone up there, Gunny?" he asked.

"Uh…" Zuko had a hard time coming up with a reply. After all his years in the army, for some strange reason, his mind went blank when he heard is superior inquire upon human life. He could not figure it out, but he did know that he did not want to turn in the two in front of him, he would not sacrifice innocents.

The creaks of the stairs could be heard from the little room and Zuko knew that the Lt. Colonel had become suspicious of the silence and was ascending the stairs to see what was transpiring without his knowledge. Soon the creaking of the floor boards and the heavy footsteps ceased and Zuko knew that Zhao had entered the room right behind him. Turning to face his superior officer, the young Gunnery Sergeant saw that the older man had a sadistic smile spread across his face. The smile disgusted him. The officer before him disgusted him. The whole operation disgusted him. How could anyone be so cruel to others? It just did not seem possible and yet it was. It was staring him right in the face!

"Hey Gunny," Zhao began. "Why don't we have some fun?"

Zuko raised a questioning eyebrow. "Excuse me, sir?"

Zhao's smile did not fade but he sighed, relaxed his posture and lowered the barrel of his rifle. "Oh, I think we can get more pleasure out of this girl than just her impending death." He turned to look at his second in command. "Don't you?"

Zuko did not answer, only shrugged and turned back to look at the two trembling Gypsies in the corner of the room. The girl was obviously frightened, she was shaking more than the boy who suddenly seemed to gather up more courage and attack the two Nazis standing in the room. He yelled and ran at the Lt. Colonel, brandishing his kitchen knife in front of him like a sword.

As a war-hardened soldier, Zhao simply smiled and sidestepped the boy, making him run right passed him. The Lt. Colonel then thrust the butt of his rifle in the back of the boy's neck and he slumped to the floor unconscious.

The girl gasped and Zuko concluded the girl and the boy were brother and sister just by seeing the way they acted for the other. Zhao continued to smile and as he turned toward the girl, she withdrew to the back wall in fear.

"Oh, come now," Zhao cooed. "Don't be shy." He reached out to her and roughly grabbed her cheek. "This will be the last pleasure you have before leaving this world. You should be thanking us."

Defensively, the tanned girl bit down hard on Lt. Colonel Zhao's hand making him yell out in pain and withdraw temporarily from her. Looking at his hand, the Lt. Colonel saw red liquid dripping from the skin and saw a similar liquid on the girl's lips. Angry, he smacked the girl hard across the face and grabbed her thighs. "You little bitch!" he yelled. She screamed as he brought her closer to him.

Zuko was having trouble watching. He had to do something; he could not bare the sight of what was happening in front of him. But what could he do? Zhao was his superior officer, was he not obligated to do as he was ordered? But he was not ordered. He was offered. But he would still be defying an officer if he broke them apart and that was a strict no-no in the army. The girl continued to scream making Zuko flinch. He could not stand it any longer, he had to do something.

"STOP!" he yelled, but Zhao simply looked back at him and laughed.

"What? You don't want any of the action?" he asked. When Zuko did not answer, he just shrugged and turned back to the girl, attempting to remove her undergarments. "That's fine; I'll have her all to myself then."

Zuko gritted his teeth together and stepped forward. He would stop this, no matter the cost. He grabbed the Lt. Colonel by the shoulder and threw him off the girl as hard as he could. Zhao fell back on the wooden floor with a thud and Zuko stepped between him and the Gypsy girl while pointing the barrel of his own rifle at his superior.

Zhao stared at his second in command and laughed. "What, are you going to shoot me? If you're that serious, why don't you shoot the boy first?"

The young Gunny looked from the Lt. Colonel to the boy laying unconscious on the floor. He sighed and lowered his rifle ever so slightly. "I…I can't," was all he said.

Zhao closed his eyes and sighed. "What a shame," he said, looking back up at his Gunny and smiling. "I thought you lived to serve Germany."

Zuko knitted his eyebrows together in anger and raised his rifle again, pointing it at Zhao's head this time. "No!" he cried. "I serve Sacred Germany, not this bullshit!"

Before Zuko was able to do anything, the girl ran out from behind him to her brother on the floor. He tried to grab her and keep her back but Zhao got to her first, tackling her and pinning her to the floor.

"Leave her alone!" Zuko cried but the Lt. Colonel just ignored him, lifting the girl's skirt and grabbing her undergarments once again. "STOP!" he tried again but Zhao still ignored him. The girl kicked and screamed, trying to get the older man off of her. Zuko could not take the torment any longer. Carefully taking aim with his rifle, the young Gunny squeezed the trigger and a loud bang erupted inside the room.

Everything went silent and Zuko blinked several times before looking down at the two on the floor. Zhao had ceased his assault on the girl and was looking down at the floor where a small puddle of blood was collecting. Zuko followed the trail of blood with his eyes to see a large dark spot growing on the back of the Lt. Colonel's knee. Zhao toppled over off the girl to reveal a large and ugly exit wound just above his right kneecap.

"What have you done!?" he roared and attempted to charge at his second in command but hobbled pathetically and fell to the ground. The girl quickly scrambled over to her brother who still lay unconscious on the floorboards. He tried to grab the girl's ankle and bring her back but Zuko would not let him. Squeezing the trigger once again, his second bullet ripped through Zhao's left side, leaving another ugly entry and exit wound. The man slumped to floor, writhing in pain as the young Gunny ran over to help the girl.

The girl shied away from him in fear as he approached. "It's okay," he said soothingly. "I'm not like him. I won't let you get hurt." She looked as if she did not believe him but he slung his rifle onto his back and held up his hands in front of him and she relaxed.

Suddenly, sounds of other soldiers echoed from the floor below, making Zuko and the girl freeze. "What's going on up there?" one of the soldiers asked. Zuko knew exactly who had asked the question and was not looking forward to confronting the man.

"Nothing!" he replied without thinking.

"Very well," the soldier replied. "I'll just come up and check." He heard the soldier mount the stairs and quickly stood up and exited the room to confront the man.

He entered the hallway and raised his hands innocently. "See, everything's fine, Sergeant. I don't even have my rifle drawn."

The man who had just arrived at the top floor rolled his eyes, not believing for one second that Zuko was telling the truth. Sergeant Emde never trusted the young Gunny in the first place and always looked into everything he did. Zuko and Emde never did get along.

"He's lying!" came Zhao's pained voice from inside the room. "Get in here!"

Zuko gulped as Emde shoved him back. "Move aside."

The young Gunnery Sergeant followed Emde into room. Nervously, he fingered his broom handle pistol at his side and waited. When the Sergeant saw the Lt. Colonel curled up on the floor and the girl leaning over the unconscious body of her brother, he raised his own rifle and pointed it at the girl. The Sergeant never got the chance to pull the trigger; Zuko had drawn his own pistol and shot the man in the back of the head before he was able to do anything. As the Sergeant slumped to the floor, Zhao began to yell things at his Gunny that Zuko shut out and ignored.

The boy on the floor stirred and woke up, groaning as he looked at his sister. "What happened, Katara?" he asked.

I'll explain later, now get up, Sokka," the girl replied.

Zuko ran to the window and looked outside. The rest of his platoon were running towards the house and by the looks of it, this was not just for a normal rendezvous at the end of a mission, they obviously knew that something was wrong. Turning back to the two gypsies, he pointed out the window and spoke frantically. "Out the window, quickly!"

Zuko jumped out the window first, followed by the boy, Sokka, and the girl, Katara. Grabbing the girl by the hand, he led them around to the back of the house into the shadows and waited for the last of the platoon to enter the house before quietly bolting into the forest behind the encampment and out of sight.

**A/N: Don Emde is one of my dad's old motorcycle racing buddies. I'm not even sure if his name is German but when I needed a name, the only one that I could think of was the big black letters that spelled out "Emde" on my poster, so I used it. I would have used my own last name, which IS German, but I thought it would be weird, so I didn't. **

**Who can't wait for the next chapter!? I can't! I can't!!**


	2. 2 Jewish Companions

**A/N: Thank you to all who reviewed so far and thank you for giving me advice. I did not know about the spelling of the rifle, I only got that from the previous writer. Thank you for the advice. Also, I know a lot of German history too. I know that about half the German military hated Hitler and disagreed with his views but the other half truly believed in him, that is, until near the end fo the war. Things just went down hill from there. Trust me when I say I know this because I am training to become and officer in the US Navy at this very moment. World War Two is one of my favorite wars and I know a lot about it. Thank you for your advice and I will try to encorperate that into the story as well as I can. (Ever seen Valkyrie? GOOOOOOD movie!!!!)**

**Keep reading, I love you all!**

Chapter 2—Jewish Companions

They ran, they ran for as long as their lungs would allow. Even when Zuko felt the girl lagging behind and tugging on his arm as if she were begging him to stop, he did not slow down. It was not until ten minutes later that the young Gunny even considered stopping.

The forest was dark with the falling night and it was difficult to see, but they eventually found a small stream by following the faint sound of running water. It was here where they stopped. Zuko did not know if they were safe or not. He knew that the first place his platoon would search would be the forest and there was no telling what Zhao would have done to them if they were caught. His only hope, and that of his two new companions, was to get as far away from the town as possible, and as quickly as possible.

He turned to the gypsies, Katara and Sokka, who were practically drowning themselves in the stream from their dehydration and parched mouths. Zuko sighed and got to his aching feet.

"We have to keep moving," he said bluntly.

Katara looked up at him from the cool, rushing water. She looked confused and appalled at the same time. "Why?" she asked. "Didn't we just escape them?"

Zuko shook his head. "No, if I know the Lieutenant Colonel, He won't stop hunting us until he's caught us in his net. Our only chance is to keep moving."

The brother, Sokka, finally looked up after drinking his fill and frowned at the former Gunnery Sergeant. "What do you care?" he asked, venom dripping from his voice. "Aren't you one of them?"

Zuko sighed and shook his head again. "No," he stated. "Since I killed a soldier and assaulted my superior officer to save you, I've now become a traitor to my country, and to my people. A deserter is all my comrades will see me as anymore."

Zuko's statement did not seem to satisfy the young gypsy. If anything, it made him angrier. His face turned red with rage as he burst out yelling at the young Gunny. "Your people, your so-called comrades, are monsters!" he cried, making Zuko jump at the sudden outburst. "For no reason, no reason at all, they killed our parents and even our grandmother!" He paused, almost as if he were done shouting, but then continued with even more hatred and rage. "_You _killed our parents!" With his last words, he lunged at the young Nazi, taking him by surprise and pinning him to the ground. Sokka tried to inflict as much pain as he could on his prey but Zuko was the better. As a trained soldier, it was impossible for the Gypsy to even get one punch in.

"I never killed your parents!" Zuko yelled in return, deflecting another punch from the boy on top of him. "The only person I ever killed was the man who was about to shoot your sister! I only used my weapons to save you!"

Sokka paused in his assault, unsure of whether he should believe the man or not. Katara took advantage of her brother's moment of perplexity to put her say in. "He's right, Sokka." He turned to look at her, the same expression of bewilderment remaining on his face. "I don't know what I would have done without him."

Zuko smiled in thanks to the girl whose cheeks turned a bright red.

Sokka sighed and got off the man on the ground, helping him to his feet. "You may be right about _him,_" he said, pointing at Zuko with the emphasis on the "him." "But the rest of them might have already gotten the others!" He threw his hands in the air. "I'll probably never see Suki again and it's all because of him and his people!" Sokka was infuriated now, he could not help it. "They've ruined out lives and now they're about to end it!"

Zuko did not think it was the proper time, but he had to know; he was just too curious. "Who's Suki?" he asked. "Who are the others you're talking about?"

Sokka turned and glared at him and did not answer. It was Katara who spoke. "Suki, Toph, and Aang are Jewish friends of ours. They live in the town just over the hill."

Zuko closed his eyes, frowned, and clenched his fists. "I know of that town," he said, his voice full of remorse. "My platoon was supposed to raid there after your small encampment." He opened his eyes and stared at both of them, his face and voice quite serious. "If Lieutenant Colonel Zhao has not ordered his men to come after us already, then he probably took the mission as first priority and will search for us when he is finished rounding up your friends."

Sokka's demeanor seemed to change rapidly from angry to sad and fearful. It looked like he was about to cry when his sister pulled him into a tight embrace. "No, Sokka," she said soothingly. "We have to be strong and work together. It's the only way we can save them."

"What do you have in mind?" Zuko asked, suspicious.

"We have to find and get the others," she said over her brother's shoulder. "Or at least see if they're okay. We won't be able to sleep unless we know."

"And then we've got to get as far away from here as possible," came Sokka's voice from behind his sister.

Zuko sighed. He knew there was no changing their minds. He hardly knew them but it was apparent from the looks on their faces that they were as stubborn as the crankiest pack mule. "Fine," he said a little agitated. He pulled his broom handle pistol from its holster and handed it to Sokka. "Here, you'll need this."

---

The streets were empty. The town had an eerie feel to it as if it were an abandoned ghost town. A screen door flew open and slammed shut from the force of the wind making the three people hiding in an alleyway jump with surprise.

"This place is creepy," Katara stated from behind Zuko who led the way through the deserted town, dodging between buildings as a precaution in case any soldiers were left as sentries.

Sokka brought up the rear, giving the former Nazi directions through the town. "We're getting close," he whispered. "The orphanage is just passed that house on the left."

Zuko only nodded and bolted out from behind a brick house towards the building the gypsy boy had mentioned. The building was small, too small for an orphanage but it was bigger than the rest of the houses they had passed. He motioned for the other two to hide behind the outer wall as he cautiously opened the door and checked for Nazi sentries left in the building. "It's clear," he said and the two siblings rushed into the orphanage, searching frantically for their friends.

The building, just like the rest of the town, was abandoned. Toys littered the floors while the kitchen table was set with dinner plates and silverware; beds were made and bathtubs still wet as if the people living there were about to return home at any minute. It was eerie and strange and it made the hair on the back of Zuko's neck stand on end. He did not want to be there any longer than he had to.

Walking into one of the bedrooms, he sat down and looked at the toys and small drawings laid out on one of the beds. The drawing he held had a crayon picture of a girl with dark skin and dark hair tied back in a braid and below the girl was the name "Katara." Zuko sighed and placed his fingers to his temples. This was the room their friends had once resided in, but they were no longer there. He sat in silence for a while until he heard the faint voice of Katara in another room say, "They're not here."

Zuko sighed again and stood up. It was time to leave, there was nothing that they could do here in the broken town. Taking the picture and stuffing it in the belt of his uniform, he started to walk out of the room when he heard a quiet gasp and something that sounded like "Hey! That's mine!" The former Nazi froze. Another voice sounded from within the room that he assumed said, "Keep quiet, it's one of them!" After that, the voices stopped and silence fell on the room once again. Hoping he had not imagined the voices, he turned back around and searched the room once again. He looked under the bed, in the closet and the toy chests, and when he found nothing, he began checking each floorboard with his leather-booted feet. He only stopped when he felt one of the floorboards in the middle of the room give way slightly and an audible creek issued from the wood.

Dropping down to the floor, he noticed that some of the boards were loose and could easily be lifted away. It was the perfect hiding place. No one would have noticed the weak floorboards unless they were actively looking for them and no one would have thought to look for them unless they had search dogs. He had to hand it to the kids, they were really smart.

Standing back up, Zuko yelled out the door for the two gypsies. "Hey, you two, come here! You've got to see this!" Only seconds after he had finished speaking did Katara and Sokka come barreling down the stairs to the room where Zuko had found the loose floor boards.

"What is it?" Katara asked.

Flinging his rifle over his shoulder, Zuko smiled and bent down to the ground. "Watch," was all he said before lifting the floorboards to reveal a small, cramped hole in the floor that held two very squashed and very confused teenagers.

"Aang, Toph!" Katara cried out in delight. She and Sokka reached down into the hole and helped the two kids up into the room. "We're so glad to see you!"

"We're glad to see you, too, Katara," said a young boy around the age of sixteen as he hugged the gypsy girl. "We've down in that hole for hours."

"Hours?" Sokka asked. "What happened here?"

The girl who was about the same age as the boy answered his question. "We were hiding from the soldiers," the girl began. She spoke without looking at anyone, as if she could not see those who were around her. "Aang and I were playing up on the hill when we saw the soldiers attack your homes. We ran back to the orphanage as fast as we could and warned everyone but they didn't believe us."

"Though I don't know why they wouldn't over something as serious as this," Aang interrupted.

The girl, who Zuko took to be Toph, frowned and continued on. "Maybe that's because we always played tricks and pranks on them, Twinkletoes."

Aang's face turned to surprise in an instant. "Oh…" was all he said.

"Frustrated, we ran and hid in that hole in the ground and waited out the raid."

"Wow, Toph," Katara said when the blind girl finished. "That's really something." She then turned and walked towards the door. "Now, come on. We've got to find Suki and get the hell out of here."

Everyone nodded and started to follow her but was prevented but the blind girl. "Stop!" she demanded. She looked angry, though it was impossible to tell why when she was not looking at anyone. "Before we do anything, I want to know who _he _is," she said, pointing at Zuko. "Why are you with one of _them_?"

Zuko looked back at Katara and Sokka quite confused and then turned back to Toph. "How did you…?" he began.

"Don't be fooled just because my eyes are blind, soldier!" she threatened. "I can see just fine without them! By listening carefully to every sound and feeling every vibration through the ground, I can see just what you look like and what you're wearing. Who are you, Nazi!?"

Zuko was at a loss for words and turned to Katara for help. "It's okay, Toph," she said. "He's with us. Zuko turned against his own comrades to save Sokka and I and now he's helped us find you."

Toph raised a thin, black eyebrow but said nothing and bumped passed Zuko, walking out the door and around the corner out of sight.

Everyone stared after her and after about a minute of silence, Aang looked at Katara and asked, "Now what?"

"We find Suki," Sokka answered. "Her house isn't far from here, we can cut through the train station."

---

After sneaking back out of the orphanage and through the town, the group had found Toph and proceeded to head for the train station. Once they arrived, they found the station as empty and desolate as they town it resided in. With Zuko in the lead, all five of them quietly snuck in through the front doors and headed to the tracks. They walked through the corridors of the building without incident and almost made it through safely until the neared the tracks. Zuko heard yelling and harsh orders being issued from around the corner and held up his hand, indicating for those behind him to stop. No one made a sound as he cautiously peeked around the corner to the tracks. What he saw was of no surprise to him. His platoon had rounded up all the gypsies and Jews in one cluster and was shoving them all onto the train, cramming them together uncomfortably as Lt. Colonel Zhao watched from a bench a few feet away.

Withdrawing back behind the wall, he lowered his eyes and shook his head. "Not good," he said. "We can't go through here, the Lt. Colonel along with the rest of my platoon is here herding everyone onto the train."

Everyone groaned knowing that they would have to leave and go around but Sokka was the one who grew suspicious. "Let me see," he said in a huff as she shoved Zuko aside and peered around the corner. He only glanced at the sight for a few seconds before pulling back and looking at the group in front of him, ghostly pale and a look of shock on his face. "Zuko," he whispered with and edge of fear. "What's going to happen to all those people?"

The young Gunnery Sergeant was silent for a while, debating on whether he should tell the gypsy or not. "You won't like it," he began. "But they're all being taken to concentration camps. There they will be tortured, beaten, and treated like dirt. The guards there are terrible people and will mistreat their prisoners. They will be over worked, underfed, exhausted and worn down to the bone. Even the proper amount of sleep the body needs will not be allowed." He regretted telling the man and could not help but wonder. "Why?" he asked.

"Because," he said as he looked everyone around him in the eye. "Suki was being forced onto that train."

**A/N: Okay, I forgot to say this last chapter so I will say it now. I am very well aware that the Broom handle pistol was for officers only but I had no idea was a Lugar was and I needed to give Zuko a second weapon. My train of thought went as follows: "The only World War Two Nazi pistol I know of is the Broom handle." "Broom handles are nice, I wish I had one." "I bet the enlisted wished they had one." "I bet Zuko wished he had one." "But they're only for officers!" "Awww hell, he's special, I'll give him one anyway!"**


	3. 3 The Beginning

**A/N: AH HAAAAA!!! The beginning of the end! Mwaahaahahaahaa!! No, I kid. The story's starting to progress now, hope you like (I added something new, let me know what you think).**

**I figured I would make all the characters a bit older than they are in the show, so here are the new ages for your reading pleasure:**

**Zuko: 24, Sokka: 23, Katara: 20, Aang: 17, Toph: 17, and Suki: 22. As more characters appear, I'll give their ages as well. Enjoy!**

Chapter 3—The Beginning

Zuko led the group back outside, outside away from the horrors on the train tracks. He could tell that someone was about to make a drastic decision that could cost all of them their lives. One of the gypsies' friends had been captured, and not only that, it was the girlfriend of the spontaneous boy. Zuko had only been around Sokka for a few hours but knew better than to think that he was just going to sit by and watch as the love of his life was being shuffled off to a Nazi death camp.

He watched tears come to Sokka's eyes as they all hid inside an alleyway. "They got Suki," he started, a little lost. "What am I going to do?" No one said anything as they watched the young man sink to his knees in the dirt. He was silent for a while before speaking again, this time with determination in his voice. "We have to save her," he said as he rose back to his feet. "I'm going after her."

_Bingo, _Zuko thought. "Don't be ridiculous, Sokka. It would take us over a week to get there." The young Gunny shook his head. "Plus you don't even know where you're going."

"But you do!" Sokka cut in. "You could take us there!"

Zuko sighed for the hundredth time in two hours. "Okay, suppose we did get there in time without being caught, what could we do? The camps are guarded twenty-four seven with high fences and barbed wire. There's no way we would be able to infiltrate the place."

"It doesn't matter, we still have to try."

"Sokka, I'd love to get Suki back, too," Katara interjected. "But please, be realistic here. What you're proposing is far too dangerous."

Sokka only frowned and shook his head. "To me, nothing is too dangerous if it means saving Suki."

Again, there was silence for quite some time before Aang spoke for the first time in a long while. "I agree with Sokka," he said. "We've all lost nearly everything so far, so we can't afford to lose another one of us. Even if we can only save one person, we have to try."

"Yeah!" Toph agreed. "Katara, if Sokka were in Suki's position, what would you do?"

Katara pretended to think for a moment before answering. "I would lay my own life on the line to save his," she replied.

Zuko sighed and rubbed his temples again. "This is a bad idea," he growled. "What if this girl was already dead by the time you found her?" he asked, making Sokka flinch. "And then one of us might die, probably all of us."

They all stared at him blankly before one of them said anything. "We have to try." It was Aang.

"Aang's right," Katara agreed. "We have to try." This made everyone but Zuko smile and nod their heads in agreement.

"Zuko, what do you know about the place that they're taking Suki?" Sokka asked.

The man in question frowned, crossed his arms and looked away. "Fine," he said begrudgingly. "It's a death camp called Auschwitz two days inside the German border."

The gypsy boy nodded his thanks at the young German. "Auschwitz, very well." He then spoke more to himself than the others. "Don't worry, Suki, we're coming for you."

---

It only took them half an hour to go through all the abandoned homes in the town and gather supplies. In one home, they found plenty of clothes and bags that would be useful on their travels. Zuko removed his uniform and replaced it with a young man's casual outfit he had found in a trunk in one of the houses. He then shoved his uniform into one of the bags for good measure. Aang and Sokka ran off to gather food for their journey and returned fifteen minutes later with two travel packs filled to the brim.

When everything was packed and ready to go, Zuko slung his Kar98 across his back and one of the traveling packs over his shoulder. "We need to stray away from the roads," he told the group. "Lieutenant Colonel Zhao would have told Command of what transpired here and there will be people looking for us." When he saw the downhearted faces of his new companions, he added: "We can use the roads as guidance but we won't be able to travel on them."

Everyone groaned slightly as they picked up their packs and started towards the forest where they had come from. They walked for a couple hours before stopping for the night, keeping the dirt road in their sights but being very careful to hide when any cars came zooming by. Given the state of the country, any car would have been a Nazi officer or a high ranking public official; someone who was close to the Furer's inner circle. Zuko could not risk anyone who could afford to travel seeing them for fear of getting caught.

When camp was made and everyone settled down around the cooking fire, Zuko sat apart from the group and studied each member as they ate. He could tell that each one of them was scared, and yet each of them was determined and brave at the same time. Each individual might have had the same feelings towards their self-appointed mission, but they all had their own reasons for feeling that way. By studying the faces and actions of the others, he came to a conclusion to their reasons for being frightened. Aang feared taking human life. The thought of inflicting pain on another was too much for the teenager. Zuko saw everything in the boy's eyes, from his remorse for stepping on someone's toe, to his fear of losing those he had left. It seemed to Zuko that the teenager was not cut out for this kind of life.

Toph was more difficult to read. She was tough and gritty, bold and blunt, but she still held a soft side. Her outside emotions may have been aloof and non-caring, but she only used that as a mask. She feared just like everyone else; not just for her own life, but for the others around her. Her fears lay in the possibility that all their trouble would be for naught. That they would find Suki dead by the time they arrived at Auschwitz and the rest of them would die, screaming for her help, but she would stand in front of them, unable to do anything. Toph did not want anyone to know that she was scared just like them so she put up a guard, an illusion that she just did not really care if they sat and did nothing, or reacted to the situation.

"What would happen to us if soldiers saw our fire and caught us?" Sokka asked the group. They all remained silent and turned to stare at the young German sitting apart from them. Zuko turned his head away and pretended to clean his rifle. After a moment of silence, they all looked back at the fire and Zuko studied Sokka. He knew what the young gypsy was thinking when he pulled out the Broom Handle pistol from his coat pocket. The man had his emotions written on his sleeve making him easy to read. He did not care about his own life, that much was clear. No, his fear stemmed from losing the woman he loved. Yet through his pale face, Zuko saw a strong determination that seemed to outsource his fear. Sokka's love for Suki was the only thing that was driving him. Knowing that Suki was waiting for him gave the young man courage; it gave him hope for the future.

Zuko sighed and started cleaning his rifle for real this time. He wished he had the courage and determination the others had. His life had been gray and dingy ever since he was six years old; that was when he had lost his mother. After his mother died, his father was left to raise him and his little sister, Azula. Neither of them really cared for him like his mother did. His father, Ozai, was a very harsh and aggressive man, a fierce and relentless Colonel from the First World War, who only cared if his son exceeded in school and sports. Azula always exceeded, she was a prodigy child where as Zuko had to try hard at everything just to keep up. He always felt that his father never truly loved him and life was easier when his mother was alive but lately, his memory of her had begun to fade when it was normally as vivid and clear as if he had just seen her yesterday.

The only people who had truly cared for him as a child was his uncle Iroh who had long since disappeared once the war started, his mother, and his older cousin Lu Ten, whose fighter plane was shot down by an enemy jet in France. His squadron had won the dog fight, but they returned home feeling as if they had lost.

His life had lacked any feeling of love once his cousin died and his uncle disappeared. He missed it, wanted it back, and was quite jealous of his new companions. They had love; even with their families dead, one friend taken prisoner, and their own town destroyed, they still remained for each other. Zuko had no one; he left behind no friends in the army and no loved ones at his home town. He was truly alone.

Glancing back at the group around the fire, he spotted a pair of brilliant blue eyes staring at him from across the flickering flames. It was the gypsy girl, Katara, but as soon as he saw her, she looked away and resumed eating her canned beans. Zuko thought it was the flickering light of the fire that tricked him, but he was so sure he had seen a slight hint of a red hue on her cheeks. Was she blushing?

Zuko cared more about his own life above the group's, but this frightened woman had burrowed inside him somehow. He barely knew any of them at all, but yet he could not help feeling like he was going to put his life on the line for her and her only. Why? He did not know a thing about her and he still felt that way. Something about her, something in the way she looked at him, or maybe the way she had thanked him for saving her and her brother, replaced some of the lost love from his life. He could not understand it and was scared, frightened by it. What was this feeling, what was it that made him wish she would continue to stare at him? He did not know and for some strange reason, was scared to find out.

---

The first day was the toughest. No one in the group apart from Zuko had ever walked for so long at once. Their feet hurt, their backs ached, and their stomachs growled from hunger, though none of them dared eat anything until Zuko called out for lunch time. They had only a few days worth of food so they had to ration, that meant no snacks or quick munches and smaller meals than they were used to.

The first half of the day was relatively silent and Zuko hoped it would stay that way, but his hopes were dashed when Aang got everyone singing a very happy and upbeat song. It was not good, Zuko knew that, but the singing lifted the refugee's spirits so he did not ask them to stop. He only hoped that their singing would not get them caught.

When night fell, they all helped set up camp just as they had the night before and once again, Zuko sat separate from the rest of them; his back leaning against a tree, facing away from the fire. He ate his dinner in silence and tossed the empty bean can in the forest when he was finished. He heard the rest if the group attempting to cheer each other up with happy stories of their families and friends that they had before the war. Once again, Zuko was not part of it. He preferred to stay out of it, away from the others and secluded. When they had happy memories, all he had were ones of frustration, pain, and hatred.

Zuko caught Katara staring at him again, and as she did before, she quickly looked back at the fire pretending that nothing had happened but could not help the slight blush appearing on her cheeks. He frowned and turned away, he thought he hated it, but deeper inside him, he welcomed her stares, he welcomed her blushes. They made him feel loved again, like he actually belonged. He tried to tell himself that he did not belong with these people, but it was nice to feel like he did every now and again.

Why was it that every time he looked up at her, she was staring at him? Zuko was almost afraid to find out but was at the same time very curious. He loved her beautiful smiles and long, wavy brown hair. What got him the most was her big, opaline blue eyes. They shined just like the ocean on a sunny day and it was too bad she averted her gaze every time he looked at her. He would have loved to get the chance to study her eyes more.

---

It had been three days since they left the abandoned town to chase after Sokka's girlfriend. The rationed food they had taken from the empty homes was running out. Zuko calculated that with the little they had left, they would not be able to make another day without finding more.

"Where are we going to get more food?" Aang asked no one in particular. "I don't even think we have any money."

"We've got money," Zuko said as he packed up his belongings and shoved them in his pack. He reached into the front pocket of his trousers and pulled out a small pouch that was filled completely with paper money and change. "And there's a town a couple miles down the road. We can get food there."

Sokka dropped his own sleeping mat when he saw what was in Zuko's hand. "Where did you get that?" he asked suspiciously.

Zuko almost felt guilty for having the money pouch with him, but he knew better than to feel remorse. The people it belonged to were not using it and the group really needed it. "I took a bit from each of the houses we searched in the town," he responded.

Sokka seemed to steam with rage. "That money doesn't belong to us!" he yelled. "How could you take those people's money, they need it!"

"The sleeping mats, blankets, clothes and food we took didn't belong to us either!" Zuko countered. "Those people weren't using this money and it was just lying around! Plus, I knew we didn't have enough food to start out with so money was going to be a necessity! If we're going to save Suki, don't you think taking care of ourselves is top priority right now?"

Sokka did not have an argument to throw back at the young German. It was obvious that he was not ready to trust Zuko, but he knew that he was right. They had to take care of themselves first before they could save anyone.

"Fine!" Sokka huffed. He crouched down and picked his sleeping mat off the ground and shoved it back in his pack. "Do what you want, I don't care!" Standing back up, he turned to face Zuko with the worst glare the Gunny had ever seen on the man. "But I'm coming with you."

Zuko shrugged, not really caring if anyone came with him or not, but Katara had different plans. "No, Sokka," she said. "I don't think you should go. You two might get in an argument again, start a scene, and get arrested." She paused and walked over to Zuko. "I'll go."

The young German was surprised that she had offered to go. He would have thought that she would have been too afraid to go into a town for fear of getting caught. However, he quickly shook off his surprise and put the money back in his pocket. "Very well," he said, turning to the rest of the group. "Katara and I will head into town and be back within two to three hours with more food. Wait for us here."

No one complained as he and the gypsy girl left their little campsite. Zuko knew that Sokka did not trust him; the man was Mr. Tell-the-World-What-I-Think. The others were harder to decipher but as he left, he could feel their cold, untrusting eyes on his back. They immediately felt that they could not trust him without even trying to get to know him. This knowledge stung him, but he tried not to think about it as he and Katara set foot on the dirt road and turned to head for the next town.

Neither one of them spoke as they walked. The events that had just transpired left them shocked and at a loss for words. It was not until they were almost near the town did either one of them say something.

"Katara, what do you think of me?" Zuko asked as the first building came into view.

She looked up at him, obviously confused. "What are you talking about?" she asked.

He sighed. This was going to be a very awkward conversation. "Well, your brother obviously distrusts me, and the others don't show it but I can tell that they don't know what to think of me either, so I was wondering where you stand on me traveling with you. Do you trust me?"

Katara smiled brightly, making Zuko nervously look away from her. "Of course I trust you, Zuko. You were the one who saved me, remember?"

He said nothing, only nodded as they entered the town and searched around for a market place to buy produce. When they were looking over travel-friendly foods, Zuko decided to ask another question. "Do you…" he began awkwardly. "Do you know why Sokka distrusts me?"

Katara grabbed a small can of green beans and placed them in a rucksack she had brought with her. "I'm not really sure," she replied. "Maybe it's because of who you used to be? It's hard to tell without asking him. He himself might not know why."

"Oh," was all he said as they finished gathering food. He and Katara took their items to the lady at the counter, purchased them and headed back out into the street. Once they were out of town and back on the road, Zuko asked the gypsy another question. "What _do _you think of me?"

Katara stared at him with wide eyes. She was silent for quite some time before she was ready to answer him. "I…I don't really know," she began. "I trust you, but I don't really know you that well." She paused and stared at the ground before speaking again. "I think you are a very kind and caring person, you were just misled growing up and, I think I kind of like you." She blushed and watched her feet. "At least, a lot more than I did when I first met you," she added for safety.

Zuko stared at her. _She what? _he thought. What did she mean by that? He was having trouble deciphering her words and they threw his thoughts into a whirlwind of confusion. What could he say, that he felt the same? The truth was, he did not know what he felt towards her. At the moment, the only reason he was helping her and her friends was because he could not stand to think of what his people were doing to those they had captured. In some way, he felt that by helping them, he was helping himself, but it was too early to tell how, in what way, he was helping himself. He had a feeling, though he did not know if he could trust it; a feeling that told him that everything he was doing had something to do with the girl.

---

Suki was shoved off the train by the force of her stampeding prison mates. The very first thing she heard when she touched down on the ground were fierce and angry-sounding women yelling at them to separate; the females on the left and the males on the right. She was scared as she lined up with the other women, unsure of what they would do to her. Suki had never suspected this. She had an inkling feeling that the Nazis were bad people but she never thought they would go so far as to take innocents into custody.

She was surprised at herself that she had wished to get off the train as soon as possible. On the train, she had been crammed in a small corner by the abundance of people packed in the car. The air had become stuffy and she had an overwhelming feeling of claustrophobia. But now that she was finally off the train and out in fresh air, what she was immediately put through made her wish she was back on the train, made her wish she never had to get off.

On the train, Suki had believed that once she got off, the worst experience of her life would be over. Oh, how wrong she was.

How wrong they all were.

**A/N: Well, Zuko's a bit confuse, isn't he? I like to write about confused people, it's fun.**

**Review or die! Just though you should know! :)**


	4. 4 Knowing the Unknown

**A/N: Wooo! Done with the re-writes! Now it's just me from here on out! You all get to know what happens next! Isn't that wonderful!? X)**

**Hey, HJ, whoever you are, Army dude... I do not believe I have historical mistakes, so would you please just drop the subject? It is starting to get a little annoying. I do my research, in case you were wondering (I'm very well aware of the atrocities of both sides of the war, even America has no right to bitch. We were pretty bad ourselves, as was England and other countries). Just out of curiousity though, where are you studying? West Point? ROTC at some college? Or are you still in high school? (If this last question offends you, I'm sorry, but I'm just curious.) You want to be a ranger, huh? I want to fly helos. Didn't think about him buying the Broom Handle, thanks.**

Chapter 4—Knowing the Unknown

Night fell on their fifth day traveling. The group was tired, filthy, and hungry but they kept their spirits high knowing that they would one day see their lost friend again. Aang had found a lake a bit further from the road than they had camped before and a cave big enough to fit all of them several yards away. They made camp in the cave, built a fire, cooked their supper, and laid out their sleeping mats. As usual, Zuko sat apart from the group, leaning against the mouth of the cave and staring out into the night. The others busied themselves with chit chat and ghost stories while he ignored them, thinking to himself.

He did not look at the group that night; he did not want to nor did he need to. He knew Katara was staring at him like she always did, he could feel it. Rubbing his sore neck from the heavy pack he had been carrying all day, he looked at his hand and saw a layer of dirt had come off his neck and lay in his palm. He was filthy, they all were, but yet why was he the only one who seemed to care about that? The others knew there was a lake, but not one of them seemed to realize what it could be used for. No one was moving anytime soon so he decided to go himself. Ignoring Katara's watchful eyes, Zuko stood up and left the cave, walking down the hill to the shore of the lake.

---

Katara seemed to be the only one who noticed Zuko get up and leave the cave. She ignored it, thinking he was just going out to relieve himself but after half an hour without him returning, she realized her assumption was wrong. _Where DID he go? _She wondered. _Maybe I should go find him. _Standing up, she walked around the fire towards the mouth of the cave, but stopped when she heard Toph's voice.

"Where are you going, Katara?" the blind girl asked.

"Oh," she said, at a loss for words. She had not thought about explaining what she was doing to her friends. "I was just going to check on Zuko."

Aang's head popped up from his pillow and he looked around the cave with wide eyes. "Zuko? Zuko left?" he asked. It was obvious he had not noticed their escort was missing.

"Why?" came Sokka's annoyed tone.

"Just to make sure he's okay," Katara replied. "He's been gone for quite some time now."

"He'll be fine!" her brother said, waving his hand in a dismissive motion. "Give him an hour, he'll be back. Now sit down and tell us one of your ghost stories. You know how we all love them."

Katara shook her head. "No, Zuko's been gone for half an hour, something might have happened." She turned back around and left the cave. "I'll be back in a bit."

The whole group watched her leave without letting them say anything in return. After a minute of silence, Sokka spoke sarcastically: "Suit yourself."

---

Zuko stood in the lake with the water up to his waist. He had left his clothes on a tree branch near the edge of the water before getting in to wash up. Digging his hand into the cool liquid, he splashed water onto his body and scrubbed. He wished he had soap but that was not a luxury any of them could afford right now.

It was tough, scrubbing all the dirt and grime off his body when all he had to use was water. To wash his mucky and greasy hair, Zuko took a big breath, filling his lungs with all the air they could hold, and ducked under the water. He ran his fingers roughly over his scalp and felt all the dirt and twigs untangle themselves and rinse out into the lake. Finally, when he could no longer hold his breath, he quickly lifted his head and torso out of the water. Shaking his head from side to side like a dog, most of the water clinging to his hair flung off and fell back into the lake. Rubbing is eyes and opening them, he stared at his reflection on the lake's surface in the moonlight. He was ragged and had begun to grow scruff on his chin and upper lip. He hated facial hair and hoped he would be able to find a razor at a decent price at the next town.

He heard a twig suddenly snap from behind him and, thinking that he had been caught, whirled around only to see the gypsy girl looking sheepish and standing at the edge of the lake where his clothes were resting. At first he felt embarrassed, seeing as he was completely naked with a girl watching him. But when she did not move and he saw the blush on her cheeks, he grew angry. Had she been watching him the whole time?

"What are you doing here!?" he yelled, anger and irritation apparent in his voice.

"I…I'm sorry!" she stuttered. "I didn't mean to see you bathing! I mean, I didn't see anything!" She was trying to cover her tracks and it was not working.

"Get out of here," Zuko growled. When she did not move, he resorted to yelling. "Get out! Now!" He saw tears begin to well up in her eyes but he ignored them and let his anger get the best of him.

"I'm sorry, Zuko," she said, her voice shaking.

"GO!" he roared, splashing water up at her. She yelped and ran off back into the woods.

Still fuming, he picked up a rock and threw it against a tree before crying out in anger and punching the water. Zuko could tell he was becoming his father and he hated himself for it. He had shouted at the girl, was angry at her, and for what reason? He had no idea, which made him even angrier. Walking out of the lake, he sat down on a rock next to the branch that held his clothes and leaned his elbows against his knees. He ran his fingers through his wet hair, trying to figure out why he had yelled at the gypsy. She did not deserve it, that much he knew, but somehow his reasons for yelling eluded him. He felt terrible and yet justified at the same time and not being able to explain either emotion. Sighing, he stood up, put his clothes back on and headed back to the cave.

---

Sokka looked suspiciously from his little sister to the ex-Nazi leading their way. Something had happed last night when Katara had gone to find Zuko, he just could not place what it was. Katara did not even glance at Zuko's back the whole day, which was strange considering that was all she would do when they first started traveling. Sokka caught Zuko stealing glimpses at his sister every now and then, but he seemed sad when he saw she was not staring at him in return. What was going on? What happened between the two?

"Hey, Katara," he said, grabbing his sister's shoulder. She looked up at him as if nothing were wrong and smiled before she continued walking. Sokka followed her and fell into pace with her. "You mind filling your big brother in on the events of last night?"

She halted her sauntering and glared at her brother. "It's nothing you should be concerned about, Sokka!" she snarled. Sokka was taken aback by his sister's sudden serious anger and just watched as she stalked off ahead of him. So this was the complete result of the shouting he thought he had heard coming from the lake.

---

That evening, a small town appeared at the end of the road. As a precaution, Zuko took Aang with him to see the state of the town. Hiding his rifle in his pack, he and Aang snuck into the town and observed the people living there. It appeared to be occupied by the German's, as were all of the towns near the border, and lucky for them, the people were not Jewish or gypsies but had the dark hair and some had dark skin. Their small group would be able to blend perfectly with the townsfolk. Returning to the others, Zuko and Aang told them that they would be able to stay at an inn for once, get a decent meal and comfortable sleep. Everyone was excited but still remained cautious as they all headed into town.

"This place seems nice," Aang stated as he looked around at the buildings and people. "I'm sure we'll be able to find a good inn here; I'm tired of sleeping in the dirt."

"There's nothing wrong with dirt," Toph interjected. "I personally like sleeping outdoors."

"We're not all land-lovers like you, Toph," Sokka cut in. "To you, we're more like seafaring pirates!" He curled his right index finger into a hook and squeezed one eye shut to imitate an eye patch. "Arrr!" he said. "Hand over yer treasure!" Everyone laughed and was grateful for the brief moment of happiness before Zuko stopped them by pointing out an inn for them to stay in.

"This place should do," he said, pointing up at a big, rough looking building. "We need to conserve our money, we can't just spend it all on some fancy hotel," he explained when he saw the downhearted looks of his companions. "Otherwise we won't have enough for the return journey."

They all begrudgingly agreed and followed their German leader to the front door of the building, however, they were stopped before they could reach it by a soldier patrolling the streets. "State your business here," he demanded.

Zuko took a deep breath before answering. "We're German travelers," he stated. "We are just taking a short vacation from our busy lives in the homeland." The soldier stared at the group as if he did not believe them and Zuko could sense that the others were unsure and nervous. They feared that his lie would not work, but Zuko held his ground with no expression on his face and the guard finally gave in.

"Very well," he sighed. "But you all should be heading back home soon. War is no time for a holiday."

Zuko smiled and nodded, motioning for the others to follow, but the soldier stopped him by grabbing his shoulder before he could reach the door to the inn.

"You," he said. "You look familiar."

The young German was taken off guard. How did this man know him? He had certainly never seen the soldier before. But he had to keep his composure or they all were in trouble. Zuko shrugged. "I get that a lot," he lied. "I'm pretty sure we've never met, you must have me mixed up with someone else."

The Nazi soldier seemed to buy the lie he was fed and removed his hand from Zuko's shoulder. "Okay, well get back to Germany soon." Zuko nodded as the soldier left and he led the group into the lobby of the inn.

"That was easy," Toph declared.

"Easy!?" Katara cried. "He nearly caught us!"

"Keep your voice down!" Zuko demanded. "The solders might hear you!"

Katara frowned but could not argue with Zuko's logic. "Fine!" she huffed. "Have it your way!" She then stalked off, leaving the rest of the group utterly baffled.

"Jeez," Sokka breathed. "What did you do to get her angry?"

Zuko just ignored him. He knew the gypsy was just trying to get information on the happenings of the night before so he refused to answer. Instead, he walked over to the innkeeper and ordered up their rooms.

---

The inn only had rooms with one bed so they had to rent out five rooms total. Zuko sat alone in his room on the edge of his bed. He could not sleep; something about the gypsy girl had seeped inside his heart, but he did not know what it meant. She was mad at him and he hated that. He did not want her to be mad at him and he did not know why. She had not glanced in his direction all day and when she did, it was in anger. He wanted her gaze of fascination and intrigue to come back. He missed her stares and hated to see her angry. There was only one way he could bring it back, he had to apologize to her.

Settling on a course of action, he stood up and exited his room. Walked down the hall to the room Katara had taken, and knocked three times before waiting for an answer. There was no answer but the door opened and the tanned girl stood in front of him with puffy, red eyes. _Has she been crying? _Zuko asked himself. He realized that he was probably the last person she wanted to see standing at her door and that he was most likely the reason why she was crying, but he had come there for a reason and he was not leaving until he had talked to her.

"Can I come in?" he asked. She nodded and stepped aside, allowing him access to the room. Sitting down on the bed, he hung his head, thinking of how he was going to start before lifting it and looking Katara right in the eyes. "I'm sorry," he began. "I'm sorry for yelling at you the other night, I'm sorry for your family, I'm sorry for your friends, and I'm sorry for what my people have done to you and to this world." Katara just stared at him, not sure what to make of what he was saying. "I know that there is no way I would be able to make it up to you and I can't say that I haven't been a part of the atrocities my countrymen have committed , but what I can say is this: I am sorry and ashamed of what I've done and what my people have done and I feel like I do not deserve your forgiveness." Zuko looked down at his feet. "I deserve to be ridiculed and humiliated, to be cast out in shame." He stood up and walked towards the door of the room, stopping just passed the gypsy girl. Katara watched him, her face a mask of confusion, hate, and sadness and one last tear escaped her guard as he said his last words. "I deserve to die." He then continued walking and left the room, leaving Katara alone once again.

---

Zuko lay on his bed, his shirt and shoes removed and sitting on a chair next to him. When he had returned from Katara's room, he had once again attempted to fall asleep, but to no avail. He sighed and closed his eyes without caring whether he fell asleep or not anymore. He knew, just knew that he would not be able to find peace until Katara had given him a reply to his apology. But what did he expect? Immediate forgiveness? As if that would ever happen. There was no way she would pardon him, not after what he did. He knew that and had long since accepted it.

There was a quiet knock at the door and, not caring who it was, he said: "It's open, you can come in." He heard the door unlatch and the hinges creek and looked up to see Katara shut the door behind her and stand in front of the bed, her head bowed as she fidgeted with her fingers nervously. "Katara!" he gasped as he sat bolt upright on the bed.

"May I sit down?" she asked. He nodded and she sat right next to him. She did not look at him as she spoke, but simply stared at the floor as if she had found great interest in the wooden boards beneath her feet. "I…thought about what you said," she began. "And I just wanted to say that even though you don't want it, I have already forgiven you."

Zuko looked aghast. He stared at her, eyes wide in shock and just gaped at a loss for words. Did she really mean that, or was she just pretending? She could not be pretending, she had to be telling the truth. But how?

"You really mean that?" he asked completely baffled.

She nodded, took his hand in hers and smiled up at him. "I do," she said. "How could I not forgive the man who saved my life as well as my brother's and my friends'?"

"But I haven't saved all your friends," he protested. "What about Suki?"

"Does it matter?" she asked. "You're risking everything to help us and that is all that matters to me. Thank you Zuko, thank you for everything." She hugged him, wrapped her arms around his neck and held him in a warm embrace. It was strange to him, a new sensation that he had not felt since he was a child. What was it? He could not remember, but when he gave into it and returned the embrace, the word finally came to him.

Love.

---

Zuko woke groggily to a loud banging on his room door. Blinking his eyes several times, he listened intently to the voices coming from the other side of the door.

"Sokka, we don't even know if what you're saying is the truth!" It sounded like Toph, but the young German could not be sure.

"I know it's the truth!" came Sokka's angry and loud reply. "She's not in her room, she's not in yours or mine so it has to be him!"

The words seemed to flow in one ear and out the other. Zuko was still exhausted from the night before and he did not seem to care for what was happening, he just wanted to rest a bit longer. It was not until a loud bang issued into the room did he open his eyes to see a very angry and very irritable Sokka staring him dead in the eyes. Confused, he rolled over in bed to see the sleeping form of Katara right next to him. _Oh, shit._

"What is this!?" Sokka yelled.

"Uh…" was all the young German could stammer out before Sokka was yelling again.

"Get away from my sister!" he demanded. "I had a feeling you were obsessed with her!"

"What!?" he cried, sitting bolt upright in bed. "I am not obsessed with anyone!"

"Then why are you sleeping with my sister!?"

Zuko really did not have a valid explanation for him. He looked around the room and noticed that the sun had already risen and was shining brightly through the thin curtains overhanging the one small window in the room. He saw that a confused Toph and a nervous Aang had followed Sokka into the room and their eyes were just now drinking in the scene before them. Looking down at Katara's sleeping form, all the memories of the night before came flooding back to him. _Oh, that's right. Katara and I stayed up late talking and just fell asleep here. _He saw that her hair was slightly covering her face and as he reached out to brush it away, her brother lashed out and knocked his hand away.

"Don't you touch her!" he bellowed.

Just then, Katara began to wake and she rubbed her eyes as she pushed herself up into a sitting position. "Zuko?" she asked groggily. "Who's yelling?" Immediately, Sokka ran over to her and yanked her out of the bed and wrapped his arms tightly around her. "Sokka, what…?" It was apparent that she was really confused by the situation.

"You just stay away from her!" he bellowed, pointing an accusing finger at Zuko.

"Sokka, what are you doing?" Katara asked, quite appalled at her brother's actions.

"Getting you away from this creep!" he replied.

"What!?"

"Did he hurt you, Katara?"

"What?"

"Did he hurt you!?" Sokka repeated the question.

"No! Of course not! Zuko would never do anything like that!"

Sokka looked at his little sister as if she were a different person. "Don't you dare say you wanted it." He almost sounded like he was going to cry.

"Sokka, I'm surprised at you!" she shrieked. "Put me down this instant! Put me down!"

"Fine!" Sokka growled, throwing her back at Zuko who caught her and wrapped his arms around her protectively. "Do what you want, see if I care!" He then fled the room followed quickly by Toph and Aang.

"What is with him lately?" Katara asked no one in particular with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

"He's just being an older brother," Zuko replied. "He feels the need to protect you now that your parents are gone."

"Well, it's stupid," she huffed. "I can do just fine on my own."

Zuko raised an eyebrow and smiled down at her. "Are you sure about that?" he asked sarcastically.

She frowned before saying: "One time, ONE time! And even then Sokka couldn't do anything. That was all you!" He smiled as he let her go and stood up and walked to the door. "I'm going to go get dressed. I'll see you at breakfast?" She was smiling now.

He nodded and she left the room.

---

Once packed, the five refugees walked through the town, ready to leave and move on after they had eaten a decent meal. While Toph and Aang were off searching for a cheap place to eat, Sokka, Katara, and Zuko looked around the town square.

"For the last time, Sokka," Katara pleaded with her brother as soon as she was sure Zuko was out of earshot at the other end of the square. "Zuko and I were just up late talking last night and we must have drifted off! Why can't you understand this?"

Sokka frowned and sat down on a bench. He sighed. "Things were just so much simpler when you and Aang had a crush on each other and Suki and I used to dance to the songs on the radio…" He trailed off and glanced down at the ground. Katara saw a single tear slip past his guard, slide down his cheek and fall to the ground between his feet. He was hurting more than anyone in the small group but it was so difficult to tell because he always channeled his sorrow into his distrust of Zuko. Katara knew her brother would not be able to hold that mask for much longer.

She sighed and walked away and saw Zuko staring at a notice board across the way and strolled over to him. He turned when he heard her approaching and she smiled at him. Zuko only nodded and looked back at the board.

"Sokka's really hurt," she told him. "I think we should give him some space for a while."

Zuko did not answer for a while before changing the subject completely. "According to this," he said, pointing to a flyer pinned to the notice board. "There is a train in this town that can take us to a small town not too far from Auschwitz."

Katara stared at the paper for a moment before answering. "That's very convenient but how are we going to get seats? In case you've forgotten, we don't have any travel papers."

Zuko only smiled devilishly. "Who said anything about getting seats?" he asked.

---

They stole quietly through the train station to the baggage cars near the end of the train. Zuko led the way, followed closely by Aang, Katara, Toph, and Sokka who brought up the rear. Everyone in the group nervously glanced around their surroundings knowing that if they were caught sneaking onto a train heading out of the country, major suspicion would arise among the guards checking for travel papers.

Zuko reached the car first and held out his hand to Aang. The boy took it and was helped onto the train before the rest. The former Nazi climbed in last and sat down on a crate in the corner of the car.

"Things are only going to get harder from here on out," he told his companions. "I hope you're ready for this." They all nodded, determination evident in their eyes. Satisfied, Zuko leaned against the side of the train car and closed his eyes, deciding on getting as much sleep as he could before he embarked on the toughest mission of his life.

---

Suki lay on the cold, concrete floor of the small building she shared with the other female prisoners unable to sleep due to the pain in all her muscles and joints. Her head had been shaved bald days earlier and since then she had been put to work for over fourteen hours a day and only fed once a day. The work she had been ordered to do seemed utterly pointless to her; move giant, heavy rocks from one big pile to another, dig a trench, pull up weeds with her bare hands, and so forth. Strangely enough, it felt to her like they were all digging their own graves, quite literally.

She heard the girl right next to her cough violently from the cold. Suki knew the girl was going to be taken away soon. That always happened when someone showed any signs of sickness. They were taken away and they never came back. Suki covered her own nose and mouth hoping that she would not catch what the girl had.

A single tear fell from her eyes as she remembered those she had left behind. _Where are you, Sokka?_

**A/N: You know what, I'm going to borrow Schindler's List from a friend of mine to help me write this story. I haven't seen it but my sister says it's really good. Who knows, maybe the movie will give me some ideas for the plot! That's always fun! :)**

**I've decided to give up on asking for reviews. I have now decided to no longer care! Yay!**


	5. 5 Train Dangers

**A/N: Okay, to start out with, I just found out that Auschwitz is actually in Poland but I decided to keep it in Germany for the sake of this story. I know it's not geographically acurate, but you're just going to have to get over it. I'm too lazy to make major changes and plus, I'm swamped with fucking school work. **

**Anyway, sorry for the delay. I'm failing my English class cause my professor is a complete dick! According to him, I am the only person in the class who is not understanding the material at all. Bull-fucking-shit! You people see how good I write! I got an A in my last English class and now I have a fucking D! I swear, my professor hates me...**

**Oh, HJ, sorry for the "Army Dude" comment. I was having trouble deciding what to say and it came out funny. But seriously, if you had heard me talking when I wrote that, you would have laughed your ass off! I am THAT rediculous! Hey, maybe I'll be picking you and my best friend up in the middle of the warzone, who knows! The helos I want to fly do do rescue missions. Which military academy do you go to and where is it located? I attend Naval ROTC at the University of New Mexico and I love it there.**

**Anyway, people! Enjoy! XD **

Chapter 5—Train Dangers

Zuko sat on top of his crate watching the others sleep peacefully as the train zoomed along the tracks towards the Polish border. He had woken up half an hour earlier from a large disruption on the tracks. Unable to go back to sleep, he sat up and began to form a plan for their escape from Auschwitz. He had already finished the basics to the plan and had begun to switch his mind to other, more serious matters.

He knew the Nazis wanted him more than they wanted the others. He knew things, things that Nazi Germany did not want the Allied Forces to know. If he escaped and got that information to the enemy, there was no telling what would happen to the empire Fuehrer Adolf Hitler had created. All the money that had been forged and sent to the enemy countries would be confiscated and Germany's plan for ruining the economies would be no more. Not to mention every single Nazi spy who used that money would be caught and executed. Germany just could not afford that loss, not now.

The train lurched as it went around another corner and he watched as Katara rolled over and hit the back of her head against another crate. She woke up with a start before sitting up and rubbing the back of her head. She did not notice Zuko watching her from his position on the crate above her as she proceeded to gather up a wad of straw and flatten it out for her new bed.

"Straw isn't that comfortable, you know that." Katara jumped from surprise when she heard Zuko's voice from behind. She nearly lost her balance making her fall onto the sleeping form of Aang but caught herself just as Zuko spoke again. "It'll make you itch."

"Zuko!" she whispered as she clutched her chest. "You really gave me a fright! Don't do that!"

He shrugged as he dangled his feet off the side of the crate. "I was just letting you know."

"Well, it can't be much worse than a hard, cold crate," she retorted, nodding in Zuko's direction.

He looked down at the crate he sat upon. He had not really noticed how uncomfortable it was. Now that she mentioned it, he could feel the hard wood digging into his thighs and the cold suddenly made him shiver. Zuko pushed the unpleasant thoughts from his mind and shook his head.

"You'd be surprised at how comfortable they really are," he stated.

She glared at him and lay down on her haphazardly made straw bedding. She had just closed her eyes when he spoke again. "You look cold, why don't you come up here with me?"

She raised her head and gawked at him. "I don't think that is such a good idea," she replied.

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want my brother to yell at you again when he wakes up and sees us."

Zuko pretended to think for a moment before speaking. "Good point," he replied.

Katara smiled and nodded before laying back down on her straw bedding and falling back to sleep.

---

Zuko opened his eyes at the sound of voices very near him. He must have dozed off into a half-sleep after his short conversation with Katara and by the looks of things; that was only a few hours before hand. The night was still dark but the train was no longer moving. Curious, Zuko quietly slid off his crate and crept over to the sound of voices to peek out the crack between the baggage car door and the wall. Squinting through the narrow space, he could barely make out three figures, one looking to be the engineer of the train and the other two were Nazi soldiers.

"Just open the car," one of the Nazis said irritably to the engineer. "We were told of a group of fugitives from German law were trying to escape the country and we have orders to check every train, every bus, and every car around the border until we find them."

"But who would travel for several days on end in a baggage car?" the engineer argued. "It just doesn't seem logical!"

"Logical or not," the second soldier said. "We have our orders and we must carry them through. Now I am ordering you to open that door!"

Zuko did not stick around to hear the rest of the conversation. They were in a tight situation and they needed a way out. Quietly moving to the others, he woke them up one by one and warned them of the situation.

"What are we going to do?" Aang asked no one in particular.

"Simple," Zuko replied. "When they enter the car and search around the crates, move yourself around so you are on the opposite side of the crates as they are, that way they will never see you." He glanced at the frightened face of Katara and then down at the straw bed she had made only hours before. With that laying around, they were bound to get caught. "And make sure you do not leave anything lying around that's ample evidence that you're here." He looked Katara right in the face as he spoke and she knew exactly what he was thinking. Bending down, she quickly shuffled up the straw and hid behind the crate just in time for the door to the car to slide open allowing one of the soldiers to enter the car.

The group stayed in the corners, out of sight of the two who stood just outside the car while the soldier checked behind Zuko's crate first. He held his breath, not wanting to betray his position on the opposite side as the soldier. The moment the ex-Nazi saw the barrel of the soldier's rifle come around the corner of the crate, Zuko moved around so that he was not seen. Once satisfied that no one was there, the soldier moved along the back end of the car and swept the area in a big circle, arriving at Toph's crate last.

Zuko was amazed at how well the little blind girl was able to keep out of sight of the soldier. She was right when she told him she did not need her eyes to see. Even though she was blind, she could still feel the vibrations of the soldier's footfall with her own feet and heard his loud motions. She knew exactly where he was.

Zuko heard a soft thump to his left. He jolted his head in the direction of the sound and saw the scared and surprised face of Aang. Looking down to the ground, he saw a canteen lying on the floor of the car bathed in the light of a flashlight. The teenager attempted to reach out and take it back but Zuko shook his head violently and mouth the word "no" to him. Aang froze in his tracks as the soldier walked over and picked up the full canteen. As silently as he could, Zuko motioned for the boy to go around the crate and hide behind it while mouthing directions. Aang did as he was told but Zuko thought that his heart had skipped a beat when the soldier called for his partner.

"Look at this," the first one said as he handed the canteen to his partner. "It's still full and I've seen flattened straw indicating that someone has either been in here or is still in here."

The second soldier frowned as he studied the canteen. Hooking it to his belt, he began to walk around the crate while his partner did the same around the other side.

Zuko knew he had no choice when he saw the second soldier enter the baggage car. Slowly and quietly, he pulled his rifle out and cocked a bullet into place before stepping out into the open and nudging the barrel against the soldier's back.

"Do _not _move," Zuko demanded with a harsh voice. "If you do, you will find a bullet lodged in your spine before you have time to say 'New World Order'." The soldier froze making Zuko smile ever so slightly. "Now drop your rifle and hand it to my friend." He pointed over the Nazi's shoulder at Aang who had come back around the side of the crate. The soldier did as he was told and Aang begrudgingly took the rifle from the man. "Now turn around, hand me your pistol and remove your uniform."

The soldier turned around and glared at Zuko with the utmost malice as he handed over his pistol. When he paused, Zuko poked him in the stomach with the barrel of his rifle and the soldier disdainfully removed his uniform and gave it to the ex-Nazi as commanded. Zuko sarcastically thanked the man and, with his rifle still pointing at him, he walked around the crate to see what had happened to the other soldier. To his great surprise and delight, Sokka had taken care of the other just as Zuko had done.

"Great job, Sokka," Zuko praised. "Now grab his uniform and let's get out of here."

"What about the engineer?" Katara asked as she helped her brother pack up the uniforms.

Zuko stole a glance out the train car door and saw the small blind girl angrily threatening the already frightened engineer. Turning back to the gypsy girl, Zuko smiled and said: "I think Toph has that covered."

The soldier who had his clothes taken from Sokka tried to run, but Zuko pulled out the pistol he had taken off the other soldier and pointed it in the man's face. He stopped in his tracks and walked off the train with his partner at Zuko's commanding nudge.

"What should I do with the engineer?" Toph asked. Zuko turned to see the small girl with the relatively larger man's arms twisted behind his back.

"Take him back to the engine and tell him to get the train going again," Zuko replied. "He's of no concern to us."

"But won't he just tell the Nazis of our whereabouts?" the blind girl asked.

Zuko smiled evilly. "If he knows what's best for him, he won't"

The engineer shuddered as Toph led him back to the front of the train. Zuko took the time to blindfold the two soldiers and kneel them down in the dirt facing the train with their hands tied behind their backs.

"What are you doing?" Katara asked, sounding both frightened and nervous at the same time.

"Making sure they can't tell their commanding officer of where we are or where we're going," he replied as he set his rifle down in the dirt and loaded his Broom Handle. Frowning, he pointed the pistol at the back of the soldier's head. He had no problem killing these men. He had recognized them as two of the men in the company that he had been with when raiding Katara and Sokka's gypsy encampment. They were good friends of Sergeant Emde and no doubt they were going to get their revenge on Zuko for killing him if he let them go. He could not let that happen, not when Katara's life would be at stake, along with everyone else in the group. He would not risk everyone's lives for his rash actions.

Carefully taking aim and ignoring the motion of the train in front of them, his finger was squeezing on the trigger when Katara stopped him. "No!" she cried. His finger immediately flew off the trigger and he felt Katara's hand on his shoulder. He turned to see her eyes about to flood with tears as she looked up at him pleadingly. "Please don't," she begged.

"Katara, these men were two of the men who attacked your home and took Suki to Auschwitz," Zuko argued. "If I don't do this, they will warn Zhao of our whereabouts!"

She shook her head as she wiped away the few tears that escaped passed her guard. "They aren't hurting us now! They don't deserve to die!" He glared at her angrily and she withdrew back towards her brother. "Please, don't do this…"

Zuko glanced from the two men bent on their knees for execution back to Katara's pleading face. He sighed, knowing that he was going to regret this. Placing his Broom Handle back in its holster, he picked his rifle up off the ground and, ignoring the small gasps from behind him, bashed the butt of the rifle into the back of the soldier's heads, effectively knocking them out cold. He turned around and saw Katara's face buried in her brother's shoulder and Sokka glaring at Zuko with hatred in his eyes that the ex-Nazi had never seen before. In that one look, Sokka showed more anger directed towards him than when he had been found sleeping next to Katara. Mistrust, hatred, anger; it all showed in the man's eyes.

Turning back to the two men unconscious on the ground, he picked one up on his shoulders and began walking to the small cliffs and rocky hills the train had been traveling next to. He looked at Sokka who only glared back at him. "I need your help with this," he said as calmly and seriously as he could. We need to take these men somewhere that they won't know where they are when they wake."

The young gypsy looked at his sister for a moment and then nodded, gently pushed her off him, and grabbed the other man and followed Zuko towards the rocky hills.

---

Toph was already back and the sun had risen when Zuko and Sokka returned from dumping the unconscious bodies up in the cliffs. When the two men returned, the group gathered up their belongings and heading through the hills along the railroad tracks. The rest of the trip to the town was rough. There were few trees and the summer sun beat down on them relentlessly. Everyone was sweating profusely by the time the sun set and they had set up camp in a cave near a flowing stream.

They sat around a fire eating their canned beans and dried meat as Zuko looked over the maps and concluded that they had already crossed over the German border and would reach their destination by nightfall the next day. Happy that they would finally be able to sleep in an actual bed again, they all settled down and went straight to sleep.

Zuko sat awake long after everyone had fallen asleep. He could not help thinking that he would see the two men unconscious in the hills once again. He knew he should have killed them, but something about the way Katara had looked at him made him change his mind. He looked down at her sleeping form and smiled. She looked so peaceful when she slept. She was beautiful and he knew he felt something for the gypsy girl, he just did not know what. He had one fear, however. He was afraid that when this adventure was over, he would no longer be able to see her again. There was no way he would be able to bear the pain of leaving her; of watching her leave him, leave him forever.

That was one thing he could not face; the one thing he was afraid of.

**A/N: Next chapter you might get to see some actuall love happening, or you might not! And Sokka's going to do something drastic! I'll let you decide what that is... You might be proved wrong, you might be proved right.**

**Can't wait for the next chapter? No? I thought so.**


	6. 6 The Festival

**A/N: Now your guessing is put to the test. See what happens between Katara and Zuko, and what is it that Sokka does? There's only one way to find out!**

**You know what? My English professor really confuses me. There was a cockroach on a seat in my class, on its back struggling to right itself. Most of the class had not noticed it and those who did tried to ignore it, but not me. I raised my hand, he called on me and I asked if I could take the thing outside. He and the rest of the class freaked out thinking it gross. He said I could and I just casually picked it up in my bare hands, took it outside, and came back as if it were nothing at all. When I returned, thay all thought I was so brave for doing that instead of killing it. It's a cockroach, it's really not that important. Anyway, what you should take from this is that my teacher gave me three extra credit points for taking the roach outside! That feat really does not deserve that, but hey! It's more points for me, I'll take it!**

**HJ, technically, if I get on scholarship, I will be in the military. I'll be able to get my own ID and everything. Of course I will be reserves until I commission, but it still counts, right? You better not be a 40 year old creep, otherwise, I'd have to come at you with my swords. No one wants that, considering I have also practiced Russian Martial Arts (Systema and Sambo) for three years and a lot of guys are too afraid to fight me. Pansies! All of them! Anyway, the helos I want to fly do rescue ops along with several other things such as taking Marines from ship to battle and Virtical Replenishments. So who knows, you might rescue me and then I might come back around and rescue you! **

**Enjoy the chapter, all!**

Chapter 6—The Festival

Night had fallen and it was only an hour later when Zuko spotted the lights of the town in the distance. There was a loud cheering when the rest of the group caught sight of the lights as well.

It only took fifteen minutes to reach the town and when they arrived, the only thing they wanted to do was find a cheap inn and fall straight to sleep. They wandered around until they came across an inn that looked a lot like the first inn they had stayed at. They were lucky this time that no guards stopped them as they entered the town or the inn. Sokka was the one who ordered their rooms this time and got rooms with two beds each. Katara and Toph shared a room, as did Aang and Sokka, leaving Zuko a room to himself. That was fine by him. He could not even fathom what would happen if he and the gypsy boy shared a room, and he did not care either way if he got to bunk with Aang or not. It was Sokka that was the problem.

Zuko lay on his bed, unable to sleep for the second time in three days. To occupy himself, he spread out his maps and went over his plan again and again until he began to feel at least a small bit tired. Just when his eyes were beginning to droop, he rolled up his maps and shoved them back into his pack. Removing his shirt and tossing it onto the floor, Zuko pulled back the covers and crawled into bed after shutting off the lights. He closed his eyes and yet, he still had trouble falling asleep.

After he had been lying in bed with his eyes closed for about thirty minutes, a knock sounded at his door. He tried to ignore it, wanting desperately to fall asleep, but as it kept returning he had trouble dismissing it. Finally, after the fourth knock, he threw the covers back and groggily walked across the room and opened the door. His eyes widened when he saw who was at the door. Nervously fiddling with her hands, Katara stood in the door way wearing a small, thin nightdress.

"May I come in?" she asked uneasily.

Tired, and sure she could see obvious dark rings under his eyes, he nodded and stepped aside to let her in. "Does Toph know you're here?" he inquired. She shook her head as she sat down on the free bed that was not ruffled and used. "Then can I ask why you're here? You brother will not be too happy about this."

"That's why I came," she said. "I was wondering if he has said anything to you about…" She paused and stared at the floor. "About you and I."

Zuko was a little taken aback by her question and nearly tripped over his own feet as he was sitting down on his own bed. He frowned, recalling the dirty look he had received from her brother the day before. He knew, just knew that Sokka mistrusted him for more reasons than one; it was not just because of his sister.

He shook his head. "No," he replied. "He doesn't really talk to me at all."

"What about when you went into the hills?" she continued. "He must have talked to you then."

"Well," Zuko paused. "He only asked me one question and that was about Suki, not you."

Oh," was all she said before they both became quiet. The silence in the room was stifling considering how fast Zuko's heart was beating. He could have sworn that the sound of his heart was echoing across the room. There were so many feelings he felt towards the girl sitting across from him, so many things he wanted to say to her but knew he shouldn't. He could not bring himself to hurt her, could not bring her hopes up only to take them away from her at the last second. "What did he ask you?" Katara said, breaking the silence and tearing Zuko away from his arguing conscience.

"He just wanted to know if I had a plan for getting Suki out of Auschwitz."

"And do you?" she asked.

He nodded. "Yes, but I'll save that for tomorrow. For tonight, we need to rest."

She nodded. "Thank you, Zuko."

He stood up and offered her his hand. "Here," he said. "I'll take you back to your room."

Smiling, Katara took his hand and allowed him to help her up from the bed. Just as they were crossing to room to the door, a loud knock reverberated from the door. They both looked at each other nervously, thinking they knew who it was. Getting in front of the gypsy girl as if to protect her, Zuko cracked open the door enough to show his whole face to the person on the other side and was surprised to see Toph standing there staring blankly the wooden door.

"Toph?" he asked, quite surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"Getting Katara back before Sokka finds out she's here," she replied. "The man's not in the best of moods and it would be good if he did not blow up in all our faces."

Katara came out from behind Zuko and pushed the door open the rest of the way. "So you're not going to tell him?"

Toph shook her head and motioned for Katara to follow. "I think it would be in all our best interests if this one was kept secret." Katara walked out of the room and waved good bye to Zuko. Toph pointed her finger at the ex-Nazi in warning. "But don't think I like this anymore than Sokka does. He's not the only one who doesn't trust you, Zuko. Next time I won't be so lenient and I will tell Sokka that you two have been meeting in secret."

Zuko frowned at the blind girl as she and Katara left to go back to their own room. So Toph did not trust him either. Were they the only two, or did Aang not trust him as well. He was beginning to feel like Katara was the only person he could really converse with. And Sokka's hatred towards him made that almost impossible. Sighing, he shut the door to his room and crawled back into the covers, this time falling asleep almost instantly.

---

"How did you know where I was?" Katara asked the blind girl as they walked down the hallway to their room. "I thought you were asleep when I left."

"I was," Toph replied. "But only partially. I heard and felt you leave and thought you were going to see your brother and Aang but knew better when I felt you go the wrong way."

"If you knew where I was going, why did you let me?" the gypsy girl asked as she opened the door to their bedroom. "I thought you didn't trust Zuko just as much as Sokka."

Toph plopped back down on her bed and pulled the covers back over her shoulders. "I may not trust him, but I know you do. Unlike Sokka, I'm willing to give you some space to breathe and learn things on your own."

"Are you saying that I'm going to learn that Zuko is really not who I think he is!?" Katara asked, sounding appalled. "No offense Toph, but you weren't there when Zuko saved me from getting raped by a creepy old man!"

"That's not what I'm saying at all!" Toph defended. "I'm saying that Sokka doesn't want to learn that he might actually be wrong. I'm willing, just a bit cautious at this stage in the game. You on the other hand, have already learned and are now searching for something new. I think what Sokka is afraid of is that new something you're searching for. He's afraid he'll lose you to it."

Katara sat on her bed and wrapped her arms around her knees. "I see," was all she said as Toph rolled over and went back to sleep. Sighing, she laid her head down on her pillow and attempted to sleep just at Toph did. However, her mind was in such a state of confusion that sleep did not come until several hours later.

---

Everyone woke up late the next day. Despite how tired they all were the night before, none of them seemed to have gotten enough sleep. Gathered and crammed in Sokka and Aang's room, the group had maps and blueprints spread out all across the beds and floors for their planning. Zuko did not miss a thing when it came to intricate escape plans, or planning in general. Nothing was missed, from how they got a hold of materials they needed, to how they were to find Suki, sneak her away from the guards, and disappear into the night.

They had spent the whole day planning that when they had finally taken a break for their third meal of the day, the sun had set and the town was filled with many lights, kiosks, stages, and dance floors.

"What's going on out there?" Aang asked no in particular when he had taken a peek out the window of the room.

Everyone in the room stood up and walked over to look out the window with Aang.

"Well, would you look at that," Zuko said with a smile on his face. "Is it August already?"

Sokka stared at the ex-Nazi, absolutely baffled. "What are you talking about?" he asked.

"August first, it's a national holiday. We usually celebrate with a big festival and fireworks."

Katara clapped her hands together excitedly. "Then we should go!" she cried enthusiastically.

"What!?" Sokka cried. "No! Right now we need to focus all our efforts into saving Suki!"

"Come on, Sokka," Toph said. "Think about it for a second. We've been in here all day focusing on nothing but our infiltration plan. I think it's time we gave out minds a rest and had a little fun."

Zuko nodded and shut the window. "I've found it very relaxing before a mission to just go out and have fun. That way you're not so stressed going into the operation."

Sokka glared at him. "And I suppose you did just that the night before you came to attack our village and take our friends away?" His voice was dripping with malevolence and his eyes burned with hatred.

Zuko sighed. "That is completely beside the point, but yes, I did." He walked back into the middle of the room and began picking up his maps. "Now, if we are all done arguing over what we're going to do, I suggest we take Katara up on her offer and enjoy ourselves tonight. We could all use a bit of fun."

Everyone nodded their agreement, making Sokka cross his arms and angrily plop down on his bed. "Fine, you go and have fun. I'll stay here and review the plan until I have it down to a tee."

"Come on, Sokka," Katara begged. "Come out with us."

He shook his head and yanked the maps out of Zuko's hands and spread them out on the bed in front of him. His sister sighed and left the room with Toph to clean up and change into some more flattering clothes than the ones she had been traveling in. Zuko left right after her, walking to his own room, and filling the bathtub up with warm water for his bath. Once the tub was full, he stripped his clothes off and climbed in, enjoying the warm water on his filthy skin and greasy hair. Quickly washing up, he rinsed the suds out of his hair and climbed out of the tub. Drying off, he tied the towel around his waist and searched for a decent outfit to wear other than the farmer's boy clothes he had been wearing before. Picking a pair of brown slacks and a dark blue shirt with a thin coat, he got dressed and walked out of his room and down to the lobby of the inn.

He expected that he would have to wait for the others to arrive but when he got there, all three of them were already there waiting for him. "Wow, you're sure fast," he said when he arrived.

"And you're slow," Toph remarked sarcastically. "Now let's go before all the fun is gone."

He nodded as they all left the inn and headed out into the streets to attend the festival. The lighting was extravagant with lanterns of many different colors and the food was amazing. Small cuts of beef cooked right in front of you, little cheese balls topped with coconut and sweets that Zuko had never tasted before. Aang led Toph off in the direction of more snack booths when Zuko felt someone tugging on his sleeve. He looked down to see Katara smiling in a way that told him that she wanted to do something with him.

"What?" he asked innocently.

She pointed off in the direction of a large area that had been cleared for dancing. "Come dance with me," she requested, grabbing his hand and pulling him in the direction of the dancing figures.

Zuko blushed as he allowed her to lead him to the dance floor. He almost regretted knowing how to dance, but thought better of it as she took his hand in hers and placed her other hand on his shoulder. He took her by the waist without thinking and began to move to the rhythm of the live music played just behind him. The song was slow at first and he nervously moved his feet, leading the beautiful girl dancing with him slowly across the floor. He knew his face was bright red and he tried not to look at her lovely, smiling face and concentrate on his movements. That was hard for him considering his dancing had become muscle memory to him from years of practice. She seemed happy and quite at home in his arms. She wanted him to be there, wanted him to hold her, to just be near her. He hated it, but wanted it. He knew that he could never be with her; her brother would not allow it, but he wanted to be with her and was afraid of losing her.

"Are you sure we should be doing this?" he asked her, afraid that he would see Sokka coming around the corner.

She let out a small chuckle making Zuko's heart skip a beat. "Oh please," she began. "He's being Mr. Pouty up in the room, he won't see us here."

But-," he tried to argue, but Katara cut him off.

"Just forget about it," she said. "Relax, enjoy yourself."

His heart began to race as the beat of the song sped up and their dance became more energetic. He did not think of his own moves as he watched her dance. She was beautiful, more so with her fluid movements and light steps. It was no surprise to him that she was such a good dancer. Being a gypsy, it was something she was born doing. He loved how their movements and footsteps intertwined into one dance. Her fingers linked his in a tight grip as she drew close to him before stepping back and spinning out beyond his reach. She came back and he grabbed her waist, lifting her up off her feet and spinning her around in the air before setting her back down again.

His heart beat so loud he thought it had drowned out the music playing in the background. When she smiled, he could not help but smile in return. They danced in graceful, flowing movements that made him feel like they were the only two out there, the only two dancing. Her endearing smile had him transfixed. Zuko could not tear his eyes away from Katara's brilliant blue eyes or her shining smile. He knew what he felt for her now. He loved her and he did not care about the consequences anymore. He was going to tell her, he had to before his bottled up emotions destroyed him from the inside.

He took her by the waist again and lowered her very near the floor, bending forward and spreading his legs to better support her weight. Just then, the song ended and they both were breathing heavily. He brought her back up to a comfortable standing position and led her away from the crowds to a quiet place on a small, wooden bridge overlooking a quietly flowing stream with small lights lighting up the surface of the water.

"This place is beautiful," Katara remarked, staring out over the surface of the water.

Zuko smiled as he watched her. "It is," he said, not referring to the water at all. "You are."

Katara turned to look up at him quite surprised by his comment. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"You're beautiful, Katara," he repeated. "I realized this the moment I saw you frightened in the second floor of that house." He took her hands in his making her face him. "I cannot begin to tell you how much you affect my actions. I have long come to terms with your brother's feelings towards me, but it does not change how I feel about you." She still had a look of complete confusion on her face but Zuko knew better than to think she was clueless. "I have fallen in love with you, Katara. I want to spend the rest of my life with you whether your brother likes it or not."

He caressed her face with his palms and brushed a lock of dark hair from her eyes and without thinking, without the slightest hesitation, he leaned in and kissed her. He felt her consent right away and wrap her arms around his waist and slink up his back. He held her close to him, afraid that he would lose her if his grip was not tight enough. They stood there, linked together in a passionate kiss with the light of the small lamps bathing them in many colors. No sound existed but the quiet rushing of the stream under them and as they broke apart, Zuko stared into her blue eyes and saw an immediate likeness to the water bellow their feet. The light reflected off her irises just as it reflected off the water making them sparkle and shine like they never had before.

Smiling at each other, Katara slipped her hand into his and they left the bridge to return to the festival with a new outlook on life.

---

Sokka followed his sister and the ex-Nazi to the secluded bridge and watched every move they made. He had seen them dancing and had his suspicions about what was about to happen in this private sector of the town. He could hear every word of their conversation and hated what he heard.

"I have long come to terms with what your brother thinks of me," he could hear Zuko say. "But that does not change how I feel about you." Sokka frowned and squeezed his hand into a fist. He watched in helpless anger as Zuko took his sisters hands and turned her to face him and spoke the forbidden words. "I have fallen in love with you, Katara. I want to spend the rest of my life with you whether your brother likes it or not."

And Sokka's mind exploded in an overflow of rage, hatred, and betrayal. Zuko had gone in for the win, leaning in and kissing Katara before Sokka could do anything about it. He stormed off; heading God knew where before he bumped into Aang and Toph by the performers on stage.

---

Zuko and Katara released their hands from each others as they arrived back at the festival. They searched around for the others until they found them conversing by the stage performers, only a new face was added to the group.

"There you guys are," Katara said as they joined the others. Zuko was surprised to see Sokka out and about but quickly dismissed it as Katara continued talking. "I thought you had gone to get more food."

"We did," Toph, explained. "But ol' lightweight here," she said, nudging Aang in the ribs. "Got full too fast so we went to see the performers."

Aang flinched and rubbed his ribs as the others laughed. Zuko smiled and almost did not notice Sokka walking up to him and tapping him on the shoulder.

"Can I talk to you?" he asked the ex-Nazi who nodded and followed him back to the secluded bridge where he had just confessed his love to the one girl that the two men both had in common. Sokka seemed a little uneasy to him, but seeing as it was nothing new, Zuko quickly dismissed it as the man's normal way of bearing himself. He knew the man wanted to say something, yet it seemed hard for him to get out. Finally, after taking a deep breath, he spoke. "I realize how much you mean to my sister, and I'm sorry I was so hard on you." His voice shook only slightly and he refused to look at the man he was talking to. "I guess I just judged you too harshly on who you used to be and what your people were doing to mine. I realize now that you're only trying to help us and that in order for this plan of yours to work, we need to trust each other." The gypsy held out his hand for Zuko to take. "Do you think you can forgive me?"

Zuko paused for a moment, thinking over what he had just been told. Was this man trying to play him? It seemed all so sudden but yet it seemed right. However much he was suspicious of Sokka, he could not argue with his logic. Sighing deeply, Zuko took the man's hand and shook it. "You're forgiven," he said and they both walked back to enjoy the rest of the evening.

**A/N: Sokka, WHAT!? What a turn of events! Will it turn out for the better, or for the worst? Keep reading and you will find out soon!**


	7. 7 The Forest

**A/N: I do appologyze for this being so late, but I got really behind in school work so the story had to be put on hold for a little while. It might happen again a few more times until school gets out cause I really need to fix my GPA. Sorry about that, and this one's short, too! What the hell!? **

**Anyway, you know, the same drill. Read, enjoy, and don't bitch about it.**

Chapter 7—The Forest

Zuko thought that the rest of the evening was just perfect. Katara had no complaints about his love for her and if anything, she returned it. Her brother Sokka seemed to be very understanding and just smiled as Zuko took Katara by the hand and led her off to one of the snack venders.

"Two sweet rolls, please," Zuko said, ordering a snack for the both of them. The vender gave a knowing smile to the two before reaching below the counter and removed two rolls from the heated container, placed them in paper napkins and handed the two sweet rolls to Zuko. Thanking the man, he handed one of the rolls to the gypsy girl who smiled and gratefully took it.

"You know," Katara said as they walked away from the vendor to see the performers. "When I first saw you in that house with your commanding officer, I just assumed you were just like the others, cruel and empty." Zuko raised an eyebrow and looked down at her as he took a bite of his sweet roll. "But after you saved me and my brother and helped us find our friends, I knew you never even wanted to do what they ordered you to do. You're just like us, all you want is peace." She blushed before taking another bite of her roll, chewing and then swallowing. "I guess that's what attracted me to you in the first place. Nothing will stop you from doing what is right."

Zuko was at a loss for words. She had described him with only a few sentences, which was something he could not even do with many. He had never known what he wanted out of life, not even after he had met Katara. The only thing he had figured out was that he loved her and that no matter what, he would stay by her side forever. However, he knew what she said was the truth. He still had no idea what he wanted out of life aside from her, but his direction was just that; to do the right thing.

He felt her take his hand in hers and squeeze. He smiled down at her and they both looked up at the dark sky as loud bangs erupted and fireworks lit up the festivities with their many different colors. Zuko closed his eyes and let the flashes of light pass through his eyelids. Tonight was perfect. His life was finally turning for the better.

---

The following morning everyone rose early to pack their belongings and head into the forest. They knew that the day ahead of them would be long and nerve wracking but they all tried not to think about it as they gathered their belongings and headed downstairs to the lobby of the inn.

They were to travel through the forest to reach Auschwitz but it would take them a full day to get through the forest alone. Sokka checked them out and paid for their rooms as Zuko and the others picked up their packs and headed out the door. They rendezvoused with Katara's brother at the edge of the town and began their long trek through a forest as vast as a mountain range.

They walked for hours, trailblazing most of the way and not stopping for any breaks until lunch time. By now, the whole group was used to the excessive walking and no one complained when their lunch break lasted only a few minutes before they continued on. The summer heat beat down on them hard by mid-afternoon, making them all sweat profusely. Just when they were about ready to start looking for a shady area to rest, Aang burst out with excitement.

"Look, everyone!" he cried, pointing off in the direction of a small body of water. "It's a pond; that would be a great place to sit and rest out feet for a while."

Sokka and Zuko, the two who were in charge of the break schedule, exchanged looks before shrugging and taking their packs off. "Very well," Zuko said, sitting down on a boulder next to the water. "A ten minute break, that's it."

Aang punched the air saying a triumphant "yes!" before slipping off his shoes and walking through the water barefoot. Zuko sighed and rubbed his shoulders. Even after years of training in the military with rifles, boots and packs, his shoulders never got used to the straps of the pack digging into the muscles.

"Are you okay?" he heard Katara ask. He looked up to see her worried expression and nodded.

"Yeah, my shoulders ache, that's all." He reached into his bag and pulled out a small piece of dried meat and took a bite as Katara sat down on the rock next to him. "We should reach Auschwitz a little after dark at the rate we're going," he said.

"That's good, isn't it?" she asked. "The only way we can get in is under cover of night, right?"

Zuko nodded and glanced over at the pond as Toph yelled at Aang for splashing her with water. Sokka, who had been rubbing her feet, glared at the teenager for getting him soaking wet. "But we can't keep taking breaks like this. If we want to make good time and get there before midnight, we have to keep moving, we can't stop again."

She sighed, sounding as if she did not like the idea. "I see," she said. "Our feet are going to hurt pretty badly, but that's a sacrifice we must make if we want to have any chance of saving Suki." He nodded again and they sat in silence for a few seconds before Katara spoke again. "Do you want me to rub your shoulders?"

Zuko stared at her, surprised she had asked that question, but nodded his consent before removing his shirt and turning his back to her. He felt her cool hands against his warm skin and shuddered. Her cold fingers sent a chill down his spine but Katara seemed not to notice as she kneaded out the knots in his tight muscles.

"Don't you ever stretch?" she asked when he cringed from her thumb digging into a particularly taut muscle.

Zuko sighed. "Yes, but since I've joined you on this journey, I haven't done it as much as I should."

"You know, I could show you a few exercises that would loosen them up rather quickly, if you want."

He shook his head. "No thanks, maybe after the mission. Right now we need to get going." Standing up, he put his shirt back on and picked his pack up from the grassy forest floor. "Break time's over! It's time to get moving."

"But it's only been five minutes!" Aang complained.

"I've changed my mind, if we want to make it Auschwitz by sundown, we have to move now."

Aang groaned as he dragged himself out of the pond and put his shoes back on. Picking up their packs again, they left the small clearing and continued their trail blazing through the dense forest. They hiked for hours, stepping over fallen trees, giant rocks, and shoving passed low-hanging tree branches. At one point, Sokka had stepped passed a tree branch and did not hold it for the others behind him. He let go too soon and the branch snapped back and smacked Zuko in the face. The ex-Nazi glared at the gypsy who just shrugged and apologized before turning back around and walking off.

By twenty passed eight, the sun was almost passed the horizon and visibility was limited. Half an hour later, the group ended up stopping every few meters and sending one of them out further to scout for the edge of the forest. When it was about a quarter until ten Toph returned with news of a large settlement not far from where they were situated.

"I could hear them talking as if they were only a few meters away," she explained. "Which means that the camp is about a few hundred meters in the same direction we're heading."

Zuko nodded. "Good." He turned to Sokka and Aang. "Get out the uniforms we took off the soldiers on the train," he ordered. They both did as they were told and went to change in the woods. Zuko did the same, leaving the girls but remaining in earshot, he removed his traveling clothes and replaced them with his old uniform. He felt dirty putting the thing back on, but he knew that it was essential to the mission so he put everything on in regulation with the German military before returning to the girls.

"Are Sokka and Aang having trouble with their uniforms," he asked Katara and Toph who had changed into more formal traveling clothes suited for low-ranking public officials.

Katara looked back to where her brother and Aang had disappeared a few minutes earlier. "I'm not sure," she said. "I thought I heard some frustrated grunts coming from their direction, but I can't tell."

"They are," Toph said, staring blankly at the ground. "They're conversing with each other right now trying to figure it out."

Zuko stared at her disbelieving. For as long as he knew of her special way of seeing, he still could not completely grasp how acute her senses were. "I guess I should go help them then." Handing his pack to Katara, he told her to hind it well before trudging through the thicket towards the sound of frustrated growls and small, confused words.

"Hold still," he heard Aang say from his right. "Maybe if I move this here…" He trailed off and Zuko stepped passed a berry bush to the area they stood.

"Need some help?" he asked.

Sokka nearly ripped his hair out in frustration. "Yes, please!" he cried. "I can't figure this damn thing out to save my life! How is it you used to put this thing on every day?"

Zuko smiled and shook his head. Taking the belt from Aang, he buttoned up Sokka's uniform jacket and wrapped the belt around, keeping the buckle square in the middle, aligned with the buttons. He then turned to Aang and once he finished with his uniform, he motioned for them to follow him back to where the girls were waiting.

"Okay, inspection you two." Zuko turned to face the two men who were completely knew to life of the military. "Attention!" he ordered. They both stiffened, their backs straight and staring straight ahead of them. "What is the first thing you do when you walk past an officer?" he asked.

"Render a salute and give the proper greeting of the day," Sokka answered.

"Very good," Zuko complimented. "And what are we going to say if anyone asks what we are doing in the middle of the mission?"

"That we are running our security check." It was Aang who answered first.

"And if we are asked before Katara and Toph get their uniforms?"

"We are escorting two ambassadors from Berlin to inspect the facilities," Aang answered again.

Zuko nodded. "Now what are your ranks and what enlisted serviceman is your superior?"

This question seemed a bit more difficult for them to answer and it was about two minutes before anyone said anything.

"We are both Sergeants," Sokka answered. "The Staff Sergeant, Gunnery Sergeant, Master Sergeant and Sergeant Major, and the Sergeant Majors of the Army are the enlisted above us."

Again, Zuko nodded. "Good, though it seems it would be out of the ordinary if we ran into any Master Sergeants or higher here." He took his weapons out of his pack and holstered them on his person. "It's time to move out."

"Wait," Katara said, making Zuko stop and turn around. "Don't you think we should review the plan one more time before we go out there?" she asked. "Just so we can make sure we know it?"

He nodded and they spent the next fifteen minutes in review before leaving their sanctuary in the trees and out in the open to the death camp that held their friend.

**A/N: Okay, first off, I would like to state that I am very well aware that I got the damn ranks fucked up. I had every intention of going to my unit this week to look at the ranks of the Army cause they are different than Marine Corps, but I kept forgetting. So I decided to just leave it, cause I'm very fucking lazy. I also know that Nazi enlisted ranks are different than US Army enlisted ranks, but I'm a lazy mother fucker and don't do any research for small details like that unless I feel like it. So you're all just going to have to suck it up and get over it. I do believe their officer structure is the same as Army and Marine Corps, though. I think I got at least one fucking thing right. **

**(Sorry for all my cursing but I just smoked a cigar with my friends so I'm a bit crazy right now, plus I just broke up with my boyfriend last night and now I have no idea what I want from life. I'm really fucking confused considering I had a dream where I was making out with another guy that I know. I don't know what I'm doing now.)**

**See you next chapter and hopefully I won't be spilling out my social problems at you then.**

**Oh, and have a very Happy Easter! :)**


	8. 8 Auschwitz

**A/N: Sorry about the wrong chapter put up earlier. I must have clicked the wrong document. **

**Finally, they find Suki! Poor Suki, had to endure one and a half weeks of the worst Concentration Camp out there (actually it was a death camp, but that's beside the point). **

**Oh, and HJ, about that "single military men" comment, don't push your luck, buddy. I will hunt you down and hurt you if you tease me like that again. But hey, it's all in good fun, right? You know what, in geography class today, I thought way too hard about my situation and gave myself a headache. I didn't think I could do that! I got a headache from thinking too hard! Wow... But anyway, I ended up skipping my math class because of it. **

**Guess what people!? I going to Colorado this weekend for a drill meet. I'll be shooting pistols and rifles (I'm too lazy to go into details like what kind of weapons they are so we will just leave it at that) and will be coming back on sunday. Sorry, but I won't even be checking my e-mail this weekend. Oh! And next week, the last Death Note movie comes out! God, I'm soo excited! I don't care if I have to go to school the next day, I'm gonna go see it! Yay, L!**

**Anyway, continuing on... On with the story!**

Chapter 8—Auschwitz

They ran as quietly as they could across the grassy plain to the outpost, every once in a while, stopping and hiding behind bushes or large rocks when a search light passed over head. Getting in without being seen was the hard part of the plan; finding Suki and getting out was a walk in the park in comparison.

They had a back up, in case some of the guards happened to bump in to them. If they were seen before Katara and Toph got to the supply room and put on female uniforms, they were to act as Ambassadors from Berlin inspecting the camp. If asked why they were not informed of their arrival, they were to say that they had come unannounced and wished to be in and out during the same night.

The group came across the tall, tightly knit barbed wire fence and stopped.

"How do we get in?" Katara whispered. Zuko said nothing but instead grabbed her hand and made a lifting motion with his free hand and nodded towards the fence. She understood and lifted her foot, allowing Zuko to take a hold of it and boost her up and over the fence. He helped the others before quickly and as light-footedly as he could, climbed over to join them.

"Check your uniforms," he said quietly to Sokka and Aang, who closely examined each other's uniforms for torn fabric or holes from the fence. Satisfied that there were none, they smiled and shook their heads before Zuko motioned for them all to follow him into the camp. They successfully dodged behind two buildings without getting caught until the light of a torch appeared around the corner of the supply building. "Flatten yourselves against the building, quick!" Zuko whispered harshly and they all did as they were told, pinning themselves against the wooden building as the soldier passed by unnoticing.

"That was close," Aang murmured. "Do you think they know we're here?" The question was more directed at Zuko than anyone else.

The ex-Nazi shook his head but said nothing. Nodding to Katara and tapping Toph on the shoulder, he took them back, around the corner and into the supply room. "I'll help you find what you need, then I'll turn my back so you can change." He began searching the shelves as he spoke. "If you need help, just ask." They both nodded and waited for him to find them uniforms in their own sizes. He found two, one small and one medium, and took them off the shelf and handed one to each of the girls. "They won't be properly tailored, but they should fit well enough to fool the guards here." He turned his back to allow them to change and had a hard time not taking one peak at Katara who was facing the corner of the room. He wanted to catch but a glimpse of her beautiful and toned body, but knew it was unethical and wrong. He did not think she would take that too kindly. So he remained idle, staring at the wooden wall of the building until he heard his name called.

"Zuko," Katara whispered. "Could you help me over here?"

He sighed. _I hope she has at least the blouse and the skirt on already, _he begged as he turned around to face her. She had, but she was having problems with her tie. Shaking his head, he walked over to her and tied it before buttoning the top button of her blouse and tightening the tie all the way up to her throat. "Thank you," she said as he smiled in return.

"You're not the only one who needs help, Katara," came a voice from the opposite corner of the room. They both turned around to see Toph completely entangled in her uniform. Katara let out a small giggle as Zuko walked over to the blind girl.

"Sorry," he apologized. "I forgot that being blind would make it difficult to put on a uniform you have never worn before. Here…" He helped her pull her arm through her sleeve, tie her neck tie, clasp her belt, and put on the insignia. When they were finished, Zuko inspected both of them for alignment and overall professional smoothness of the fabric before they all left the building and rejoined Sokka and Aang outside.

"What took you guys so long?" Sokka asked when they met behind the building.

"Sorry," Zuko said. "The girls had a little trouble with their uniforms, but it's been sorted out now."

Sokka frowned but ignored the explanation and switched the subject back to their mission. "So how do we find Suki?" he asked. Everyone stared at Zuko as if he were the epitome of knowledge.

He nodded towards the building across from the supply room. "On the other side of that building is where all of the female captives sleep," he explained. "Only female guards attend to them so it will be up to Toph and Katara to find her."

Sokka let out an exasperated sigh. It was clear that he wanted to be the one to find the love of his life, but he knew that if he was the one marching through the prisoner barracks, he would look as suspicious as a fox sticking his nose in a rabbit hole. Finally, after a minute of silence, he nodded and allowed Zuko to lead the way.

The five of them made it to the female sleeping quarters without incident. With the three men standing watch outside the main door, Toph and Katara silently opened the heavy metal door and entered the small, cold room.

---

Katara thought the room was freezing. She shivered slightly as her eyes slowly adjusted to the dim light and when they did, she could not believe what they were showing her. Row after row of thinly clothed women lay asleep on the cold, concrete floor without any padding or blanket to keep them warm. They were all sickly and worn to the bone and the gypsy wondered how it was possible that any of them had survived this long. She slowly came to realize that this would have been her fate if it had not been for Zuko betraying his own people. She had thought him as bad as all the rest when she had first saw him, but as his superior officer began to have his way with her, Zuko proved to be a man who valued honor and justice over his own country any day. For that, she loved him and trusted him with all her heart.

"Check that far row," she whispered to Toph who nodded and began examining each of the sleeping forms on the floor. Katara herself took the middle row. She looked closely at each of the similarly shaved heads as she passed. She noticed that they were all around the same age, late teens and twenties and figured that the young were put to death as were the old.

Finishing the middle row, Katara moved on to the row opposite from Toph. Again, she examined every face but still did not find Suki. She was beginning to lose hope that her friend had survived when a familiar form in the corner of the room caught her eye. Walking over to the girl, she looked down and realized just who it was, her brother's girlfriend and her friend; Suki.

---

Suki had never actually fallen asleep that night. Since the first night she had been put in the hell camp she had been having trouble sleeping after the trials of each day. So it was obvious that she would have heard the door to their room open and close. She could hear the footsteps of the two guards walking among the prisoners and in an attempt to have them leave her alone, she pretended to be asleep.

"Check that far row," she heard one of them whisper. Suki thought the voice sounded familiar, but shoved the thought from her mind thinking that all of the soldiers working with them all sounded the same. Yet she could not help but think she knew this one personally. How, she did not know, but what she did know is that the two Nazis were looking for someone. Closing her eyes tight, she prayed to her God that they were not looking for her.

About five minutes passed before Suki could feel the presence of the guard near her. She shivered, hoping that it was just from the cold, but knew better than to think such things. The guard had stopped only a few feet away from her. _Please be the other girl, _she begged. _Please be the other girl. Don't let it be me. _Suki's heart nearly stopped when she felt a gentle hand touch her arm. In a futile attempt to ignore it and pretend to still be sleeping, she squeezed here eyes shut. The hand grabbed her shoulder and lightly shook it while calling her name in a whisper.

"Suki," she said. "Wake up."

Suki blinked here eyes open. It couldn't be; it was not possible. Groggily looking up into the face of the girl who woke her, she was utterly astounded to see Katara's kind face staring back at her.

"Katara!" she softly cried, nearly waking everyone in the room. "What are you doing here?"

"Rescuing you," the gypsy replied, helping her friend to her feet. Suki's legs were weak and almost devoid of any muscle and she had much difficulty standing, let alone walking. "Geez, how much do they feed you here?" Katara asked as she helped Suki to the door. Toph soon followed, lightly stepping over the sleeping bodies to join the other two. "One rice cake per meal?"

Suki sighed. "Less than that, actually; we only get to eat once a day and even then it's not a full meal. All they give us is this disgusting-smelling stew that tastes like the underside of a pig."

"Then how is it that you all have survived this long?" Toph asked.

"Mainly pure will power," Suki explained. "That's how I managed to do it. The only thing I thought of was seeing you guys again." She paused and looked around. "Where is Sokka?"

"He's outside the building with Aang and a new friend of ours. We'll be getting out of here as soon as we join them."

Suki smiled as she allowed Katara to help her out the door. "Thank you," she whispered.

---

Zuko gripped his rifle tightly as he, Sokka and Aang guarded the door to the female prisoner's room. He had a gut feeling like something was going to go wrong, but at the moment he had no means of knowing what that was. He looked at Sokka. He seemed to have an air of utmost confidence about him, almost as if her were the happiest man on the planet. Zuko had a hard time deciphering why until he remembered that Suki, the girl they were rescuing, was the man's girlfriend. Of course he was happy, he was about to get back his only love.

Aang was a different story. He seemed scared of something. He was really nervous and kept looking around expecting to see a squad of armed soldiers ready to arrest them marching around the corner. Placing a hand on the teenager's shoulder, he smiled and gave a slight nod to the boy that said, "Relax." He understood and seemed to have a bit more confidence. He stopped shaking and stood tall with a firm grip on his Lugar.

"They're certainly taking quite some time in there," Sokka said after a few minutes of waiting.

"Just be patient," Zuko told him. "I'm sure they have to search through a large group of women who all look the same. The guards do shave their heads when they get here."

Sokka widened his eyes and stared at Zuko in disbelief. It seemed that the man did not realize all the truths of the concentration camp and was in for a surprise when he would see his girlfriend again. He opened his mouth to say something but just as he did, a soldier came around a corner and shined the light of his torch in their faces. Aang took one step forward in an attempt to remove the light from his eyes but the soldier yelled at him to stop.

"_Halte!_" he cried in thick German and Aang froze in step. "What are you three doing here?" he asked.

"We're running a midnight check on the prisoners," Zuko lied, thinking fast on his feet. After all their planning, he had not thought of what to say if they were caught outside the female quarters.

"If you are, then shouldn't you be at the male's hut?" he asked, obviously not buying Zuko's bluff.

The ex-Nazi opened his mouth with another quick reply but Sokka stopped him by placing a hand on his shoulder. "Let me handle this," he said.

Zuko nodded and the gypsy walked over to the guard, swinging his arm over the man's shoulder in a friendly fashion and walking off passed the building and around the corner. The ex-Nazi watched as the two men disappeared around the corner hoping that nothing terrible happened and Sokka was taken prisoner or killed, or worse, failed to talk sense to the man and they were all in trouble.

Only a few seconds passed by after Sokka and the guard disappeared around the corner before Toph, Katara and a girl Zuko had never seen before appeared out of the tiny, concrete building.

"So this is Suki," Zuko said when he laid eyes on the girl. "I hope she's well enough to travel."

"Once she gets some food in her, she'll be fine," Katara stated, handing the girl over to Zuko. She was lightweight and skinny. Obviously malnourished and over worked; two signs of the Concentration Camp. She would need lots of food and lots of rest before she was able to help carry any packs or help with anything on their travels. Traveling with her would be a real burden, he had known that from the beginning but he still was not prepared for it. "And speaking of Sokka," Katara continued. "Where is he?" She sounded worried.

"A guard saw us and Sokka took him behind the building to 'talk' to him. He should be back any minute." Zuko glanced in the direction that the gypsy had disappeared. "And speak of the devil."

Just as he looked, Sokka came running back around the corner to the group waiting for him.

"What happened?"Aang asked once he arrived.

"We got in a fight and I ended up knocking him out cold. If we want to get out of here before his unconscious body is found in the dumpster, we have to move fast." He looked up, panting, and caught sight of Suki leaning on Zuko's shoulder and his eyes widened. It appeared that he could not believe what his eyes were telling him.

"Hello, Sokka," Suki said with a small smile. She let go of Zuko and hobbled over to her love.

"Suki…" He caught her as she wobbled on her weak legs and fell to the ground. The two embraced and there was a moment of silence before Zuko interrupted.

"It's time to move," he said. "The soldiers will be growing curious as to what happened to their comrade so we have to get out of here quick."

Everyone nodded as Sokka picked Suki up piggy-back style and they ran off back to the barbed wire fence. Zuko went in a different direction. Now that they were in, it was easier to escape if one of them took over the watch schedule. Running off to the south end of the camp, he dodged between buildings and sheds to get to the south watch tower. He would make the men there believe that he was there to relieve them of their duties and allow the others to escape before leaving himself with no watchmen to see.

He ran between two buildings and stopped at the corner, flattening himself against the wall. Just near the south tower, a group of guards stood talking in hushed and angry voices. They seemed suspicious of something and as Zuko looked closer, he saw in the middle of the group, the very man who had seen them at the female's holding cell. How was it that he had woken up so soon? Didn't Sokka say he was out cold? Something was not right. How were they going to escape if there were so many guards watching? There was no way they would be able to leave from this end of the camp. Deciding to turn back and find the others and help them get out a different way, he turned around and ran back to the other end of the building only to be cut off by two guards.

Zuko quietly cursed under his breath, gripping his rifle tightly and slowing to a walk to casually go around the soldiers. He nodded once as he passed them and was about to let out a sigh of relief when one of the soldiers grabbed his arm. Zuko was taken by surprise and swung around to have his back slammed up against the wall.

"What the hell!?" he cried, playing the part of the wrongly accused. "What are you doing? What's going on?"

"Don't pretend you don't know," one of the soldiers said with a wry smile. "We know who you are, Gunnery Sergeant Zuko Brandt."

Zuko's eyes widened. How did they know? Who told them? How did they find out? He did not know what to think of the situation and tried desperately to find a way out. His mind raced and he tried to struggle, not being able to think of anything else to do, but the soldier holding him countered his moves and ended up flipping him around and holding his arms behind his back in a painful position. He grunted from the sharp pain in his shoulders as he was slammed face first up against the wall once again.

"The warden would like to have a little word with you," the second soldier said as he was led back to the watch tower that he had come from.

_Oh, I'm sure the warden would just _love _to have me here, _Zuko thought as he was walked out into the open. _That's only because the Fuehrer would promote whoever caught me up several ranks. Plus the reward money wouldn't be that bad either. That's all these people ever care about, rank and money._

Zuko had a death glare on his face as he was brought to the gaggle of soldiers, male and female alike, and shoved in the middle with every guard's weapon pointed at his chest. There was no way he would be able to make a run for it with that many barrels pointed and ready to kill. Zuko glared at each one of them in turn. They would get no respect from him, no congratulations, no praise, nothing but sarcastic remarks and cold insults.

"The prisoner is in custody," one soldier said loudly. "Someone wake the warden!"

"Good luck!" Zuko shouted sarcastically at the man who had run off. "All the warden will do is yell at you, roll over and go back to sleep!"

"Shut up, you!" One of the soldier's behind him slammed the butt of his rifle into his left kidney making him cry out in pain and his knees buckle. He fell to the ground and clutched his side as little droplets of blood fell out of his mouth as he coughed violently. "You have no right to say that about the warden!"

"Don't I?" Zuko asked, coughing and struggling back to his feet. "I think I can say whatever I want about whoever I want. Take this for example." He stood up straight, cleared his throat and spoke in a clear, projecting voice. "The Fuehrer is a backstabbing, hypocritical, psychopathic nutcase whose only reason for starting this war is to make up for all the lost attention he received as a child and prove to his dead-as-a-rock father that he is somehow not a failure. Just watch, America will get involved in this war soon and Hitler will be squashed like a--" Zuko's sentence was cut off by the stock of a pistol colliding with the side of his face. He staggered for a moment before he righted himself and raised a hand to his face, feeling a large welt suddenly appear where one had not been before. "Okay," he said, his voice almost faltering. "Whoever just hit me, had no right to do that."

"Oh, I think you'll find they did," came a cold, female voice from behind the crowd. Zuko knew that voice, had heard it all too much as he was growing up. She was the warden, she was the one who gave the horrific orders to kill, torture and work to death all the prisoners in this camp. She was the devil calling the shots.

The circle parted and a woman the same age as Zuko stepped forward with a smug smile on her face. She wore her dark hair back in a tight bun and an officer's insignia was sewn onto her uniform. She walked up to the ex-Nazi holding up a Broom Handle pistol in front of his eyes. "They have every right to hit you as I have every right to do whatever I want to you." She shook his pistol in his face. "I've been curious about this for a long time, Zuzu," she said. "Where on earth did you get such a wonderful weapon, I thought they were only for us officers."

"Uncle gave it to me," he replied. "Just before he left."

"Oh, I see," she jibbed happily. "You're his new son now. Since cousin Lu Ten died, poor uncle Iroh has to latch himself onto another worthless loser like yourself just to feel happy again." She turned to the group of soldiers around them. "Isn't that sweet, boys?" she called out and everyone laughed. "My dear twin brother thinks that someone actually loves him! What a joke!"

"Shut up, Azula!" Zuko screamed. "You shouldn't talk about things that you know absolutely nothing about!" He clenched his hands into fists from his rage.

Azula raised an eyebrow before holstering her brother's Broom Handle on her own belt and walked away. "Lock him in the temporary holding cell," she ordered. "I will be in to see him soon."

"Aye, Captain," a soldier behind him said as he grabbed Zuko's arms and bound them behind his back. As he was marched off, the only thing that went through his mind was not about what they would do to him as their prisoner, but of whether Katara, Suki and the others had made it out safely.

He turned to look behind him and saw one thing that infuriated him more than having his own twin sister as his prison guard. Zuko saw them, the group, standing behind a building near the fence and the look on Katara's face tore him apart. She was crying, the tears running down her face just like a river flowing down a mountain side. She shook her head and rubbed her eyes as if that would help; that if she opened them again, he would be free, unbound, and away from the soldiers. He could see in her eyes not fear, but sadness, hatred, and betrayal. She turned away, unable bare the sight of him walking to his doom.

However, it was not Katara's face that got him but the face of her brother. With Katara's eyes on Zuko, he looked just as upset as she was, but when she turned and disappeared back behind the building, Sokka's face turned from remorse, to satisfaction. Zuko frowned as he watched the gypsy's expression transform and a smug smile appear on his face. It was him; he was the one who tipped off the Nazis of where he was going to be and when. He was the one who used his trust until he was no longer needed. He was the one who betrayed him.

Zuko squeezed his eyes shut and looked away. A single tear fell down his cheek for the woman he loved but it was the actions of her brother that made his hatred burn inside him. He would escape this place, he vowed that he would right then and there. He did not know how and he did not know when, but somehow, he would escape and see Katara's beautiful blue eyes once again. See her smile, feel her lips on his own and her steady breathing against his chest. She was all that he had to live for and all that would keep him alive.

He would see her again, of that he was sure.

**A/N: I know, I'm awful. Sorry for making Sokka do that, but I had to to develope the story more. Oh, and yes, Zuko and Azula are twins in this. The show never specified her age and she and her brother look about the same age, so I figured twins would be in order. **

**Zuko's last name means "fire, or land cleared by fire" in German. I thought it was befitting the prince of the fire nation, don't you?**

**Hoped you liked and see you next time!**


	9. 9 The Forest Again

**A/N: Well, here's the next one. Next chapter should be fun. It's mainly about Zuko's time in Auschwitz, but there's a bit about the rest of the group, too. **

**I don't have much to say about this one, just read and enjoy. OH! I wanted to tell you, if you guys like Jetara as well, I've got an idea cooking that is kinda a crossover between Aladdin and Robin Hood. I just find it so ironic that Jet's part in the show is blown up to Robin Hood-like proportions. I love it! X) The Jetara story takes place in Persia. Yay...**

**Continuing on with the Nazis now:**

Chapter 9—The Forest Again

Katara cried as she climbed over the fence. She did not care that her brother and the others still had yet to get over; she ran off back towards the forest, her tears blurring her vision and it was no surprise that she tripped over a rock and fell to the ground. She did not get up when she fell, just sat on the ground and cried her heart out. Sokka and the others climbed over the fence and ran over to her. Her brother let Suki down on the ground and wrapped his arms around his sister.

"Katara," he said soothingly. "I'm sorry. But we can't stay here; Zuko would have sacrificed himself for no reason if they catch us."

"I know," she sobbed. "I just can't. I can't do it; I can't keep going without him. He's kept me going for so long and now he's gone." She wiped her eyes and looked up at those around her. "I didn't get to tell him goodbye."

Sokka helped his sister to her feet and picked Suki back up on his back. "We're lucky they haven't spotted us yet," he said. "We should get going before they do." He then ran off with Suki on his back to the trees followed closely by Toph and Aang.

Katara wiped her eyes for the second time and ran after the others. Running across the grassy clearing to the forest seemed longer than it had been going to the camp. The tears still flowed from her eyes, but she could see a bit better than she had before.

Just as she was about to reach the forest, the darkness of the night was lit up and she was bathed in a bright, unnatural light. She gasped and glanced behind her. Shielding her eyes from the blinding light, she saw silhouettes of Nazi soldiers jumping the fence and running after them. They were yelling words that Katara could not hear but she knew well enough that they were angry and would imprison them all if they were caught.

She turned back to her brother who ran back to her, Suki still on his back, grabbed her hand and dragged her back into the forest. Once she was running, Sokka let her go and she bolted after the others, her tears dried up with cold sweat in its place. She was afraid, afraid they would be caught and Zuko would have been captured for no reason.

Her uniform was difficult to run in. It restricted the length of her stride and the movement of her legs and her shoes were uncomfortable and hurt her feet. Yet with all that pain and discomfort, she somehow managed to keep up with her brother.

Not even daring to look behind her, Katara kept her sights on her brother and Suki in front of her. They ran straight for a few minutes until Sokka suddenly cut to the right. Toph and Aang quickly followed and, confused, Katara did as well. They ran in a zigzag pattern, jumping over fallen branches, logs, and bushes to avoid the soldiers hot on their trail.

She could hear them, barking out orders and she pushed their words to the back of her mind as she ran for her life. It scared her, not knowing if they had seen them or not, and all she could think about was keeping pace with the group in front of her. Her heart beat so fast from fear and over-exertion. She had never run so fast and so far before and she was afraid that her muscles would give out before she made it to safety.

Katara rounded a corner only to hear more soldiers in front and behind her with her brother and the others nowhere in sight. She glanced around the clearing frantically. Where were they? Had they been caught? She was not willing to believe that she was the last one left and almost broke down crying again before she heard a soft hiss above her. She looked up into the trees above her and was confused when she saw nothing, but then a hand that looked surprisingly like Sokka's reached down and beckoned for her to climb up. She grabbed the hand and her brother helped her up the trunk of the tree.

When she settled herself on a thick, strong tree branch, she looked around to see that it was only Suki and Sokka who were up in the tree. "Where are Aang and Toph?" she whispered, sounding worried.

Her brother put a quieting finger to his lips and pointed to his right, indicating that the two teenagers were in the next tree over. A few seconds later, Suki let out a small gasp when the sound of the German soldiers appeared right underneath them. They were bickering rapidly to each other, jumping from their native tongue to several other languages before storming off in a huff. The three in the tree remained quiet for several minutes afterwards, none of them daring to move a single muscle for fear of more soldiers hearing them.

After ten minutes passed by with no sign of any soldiers, Sokka let out a sigh of relief and relaxed against the thick tree trunk. "Thank goodness, their gone," he said with relief.

"We're just lucky that the camp doesn't have any sniffing dogs," Suki commented. "Otherwise we would have been caught in an instant."

Katara started to climb down from the tree when she stared at her friend, confused. "They have trained dogs to sniff out humans?" she asked.

Suki nodded. Shuddering at the thought of herself being ripped to shreds by big German Sheppards, Katara jumped down the rest of the way and landed on soft earth before waiting for the others to join her. Toph and Aang were next to her in an instant while Sokka helped his girlfriend carefully out of the tree.

"What do we do now?" Aang asked no one in particular.

Sokka slung Suki's arm around his shoulder and helped her walk back in the direction they had come. "We get our packs," he answered. "Then we get the hell out of here."

Katara frowned and refused to move. "What about Zuko?" she asked angrily. "We can't just leave him in there to rot! I mean, look at what that place did to Suki!"

Sokka sighed and turned to face his sister. "Katara, we can't just waltz right back in there. What do you think would happen? They know what we look like so our uniforms would do no good. Plus we can't leave Suki on her own for too long in her condition. That would be murder."

She could feel her tears coming back as she yelled at her brother. "You were willing to put us all in danger for the woman you love but when I want to you won't allow it!? I trust Zuko, I trust him with my life! With your life! Why can't you do the same?" She was waving her arms wildly, pointing an accusing finger at her brother, wiping the tears from her eyes and pacing in a huff. "You haven't trusted him since the moment you first met him, but I have and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get him back! And nothing you say can change my mind!"

There was an eerie silence for quite some time before anyone said anything and Katara was surprised to hear not her brother, but Aang throw in his opinion. "Sokka's right, Katara," he said sadly. "As much as I hate to admit it, there is no way we can get Zuko back without help. He's out of our reach so we're just going to have to get to safety and find someone who can help him."

Katara stared at the teenager in disbelief before looking around at all the other faces around her. They all seemed to agree with Sokka and she could not see why. But maybe Aang was right, maybe Sokka was right. Was there really no way to get him back? The more she thought about it, the more she came to grips with the grim truth. He tears flowed more freely now as she covered her face in her hands and dropped to the forest floor sobbing. Now what was she going to do? She lost the one man who had ever made her feel truly safe and she had no way of getting him back. She cried into her knees in front of everyone, no longer caring if her brother knew she felt something for the German. She just wanted him back; she wanted Sokka to understand that.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and she looked up after wiping her eyes to see Toph standing next to her staring straight ahead.

"We have to go," she said bluntly. "We can't stay here."

Nodding, Katara slowly stood up and followed her brother back to the edge of the forest to retrieve their packs.

---

Zuko sat in a cold, dank, metal cell, jiggling his hand cuffs in frustration as he sat in a hard, uncomfortable chair. _Damn Azula, _he thought angrily. _Leave it to her to know every detail that makes a person very uncomfortable. _He sighed and dropped his hands, looking up at the ceiling. Closing his eyes, he remembered the miserable expression he had seen on Katara's face when she watched him being hauled off to the cell he was currently in. It hurt him to see her crying eyes, but he could not get the image out of his mind. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw her. But then he saw her brother and the smug smile playing across the gypsy's face.

Zuko hated Sokka for what he did. He despised Sokka for selling him out and putting him the very place he had rescued his girlfriend from. But most of all, he despised Sokka for making his own sister suffer. Zuko knew that Sokka had some inkling feeling that Katara felt something for him. So why on earth would he do this to her? Zuko had a feeling that Sokka believed he did it to protect his sister. The gypsy thought he was doing the right thing by getting rid of Zuko, but in actuality, he was making things a lot worse.

The German ran his fingers through his hair and sighed for the second time. _What am I going to do? _he wondered. _With Azula in charge here, it will be near impossible to escape, and downright impossible to escape without help. _

His mind had slipped back to thoughts of the girl he loved when the heavy metal door to his cell opened with a loud creak and he looked up to see his twin sister enter the room. Zuko frowned at the smile on her face. _That bitch thinks she's won. But she just sucked the snake poison out of her heel only to get bit by a deadly scorpion. _

"Welcome, dear brother," she said sweetly. "Welcome to the rest of your life, however short it may be."

"Just get to the point already, Azula!" Zuko snapped, standing up to face his sister eye-to-eye. "I'm in no mood to hear one of your pointless speeches."

She sighed with a smile. "Very well, Zuko," she said in the same sweet voice. "I just came to ask you something."

"And what is that?"

She smiled sadistically and pulled out the Broom Handle pistol she had taken for herself. "This is a good weapon," she began. "It comes to question, why on earth would someone like yourself give it to the soldier that they're keeping hostage?"

Zuko's eyes widened in shock. Was that what Sokka did when he went behind the building with the other soldier? He never knocked the man unconscious. He talked to him, made him believe a wild tale of Zuko being an imposter and holding him and Aang hostage so he could carry out his plans. The gypsy was good, a good talker and conniving.

"I'm thinking only because your information is faulty," he replied. This seemed to confuse his sister quite a lot. She raised a questioning eyebrow before holstering the pistol once again.

"How can that be?" she asked. "I was told directly from the soldier who got the information and then handed me the pistol."

A small smirk snuck onto Zuko's face. "That's because that soldier was misinformed. You so called 'hostage' soldier might not be who you think he is."

Azula grabbed her brother's uniform collar in her rage. "What are you insinuating!?" she screamed. "That you had friends!?" She dragged him over to the edge of the cell and slammed his back up against the wall. "Don't lie to me, Zuko! Tell the truth! And give it to me straight!"

Zuko glared at his sister with the upmost hatred but did not speak. Only a few seconds elapsed before they heard a commotion outside the cell and a fist could be heard banging loudly on the metal door.

"Captain!" said a male voice. "There is an urgent situation in the female prisoner's hut!"

Azula glared suspiciously at the door before letting her brother down and telling the man to open the door. Zuko walked back over to his seat and sat back down, crossing his legs comfortably. The man opened the door and saluted Azula. He seemed out of breath when the Captain returned the salute. "What is it, Sergeant?" she asked.

He took a few deep breaths before answering his commanding officer. "It seems one of the prisoners has escaped," he said. Zuko was amused by his sister's slight shift of weight through her feet at the man's words. "We caught sight of a few of our guards leading the girl into the forest. We went after them but lost them in the trees."

Azula had let the man finish before letting her anger out. She contorted her face with rage as she spun around and glared at her brother. Zuko just sat calmly in his chair, his arms crossed over his chest and a smug smile on his face.

"Looks like I had some friends after all," he said sarcastically.

"What did you do?" Azula growled.

Zuko cocked his head to the side, his smile remaining. "Would you like the long version or the short, dumbed down version?" he asked innocently. Azula said nothing and Zuko just sighed. "The short, dumbed down version, I guess. Here goes; I participated in a raid in Poland with Lieutenant Colonel Zhao. We took one house together but when he began to rape a gypsy girl, I shot him, then killed a Sergeant. The gypsy girl and her brother escaped with me then we went to find their friends. We found two but one was taken here. So we came to rescue her. End of story."

Azula released her scowl and raised an eyebrow at her brother again. "Why the hell are you telling me this?" she asked. "Wouldn't you want to keep that a secret?"

Zuko shrugged. "It was the gypsy's brother that turned me in and frankly, I don't really care if you know the story or not. I didn't give you any specifics, no names, no destinations, nothing. Plus, they've already escaped by the sound of things and you're not going to catch them anyway, so what does it matter to me if you know or not?"

Azula frowned again and backhanded the man sitting in front of her. "You are a traitor to your country and I should turn you in immediately!" she screamed.

"But?" Zuko said, suspicious. "There's always a 'but'."

"But for causing me to have my good reputation ruined by infiltrating this camp and steeling a prisoner from me, I'll have you remain here for at least a month or two. You will live in this cell at night, and during the day, you will eat and work with the rest of the prisoners here." She stopped there but Zuko had a feeling there was more.

"That's it?" he asked.

She shook her head. "No," she replied, a slight sneer on her face. "Because you are a former Nazi, you will work wearing the swastika from your uniform."

Zuko jumped to his feet, absolutely appalled. "What!?" he cried. "You can't do that! I'll be jumped by the other prisoners within two seconds!"

Azula laughed and turned to exit the cell. "Not likely," she said. "They'll just shun you and give you dirty looks." She then left the cell and slammed the door shut in her brother's face. "Though, if we're lucky, there might be a select few who will attack you." She spoke through the metal door before leaving Zuko alone with his thoughts.

Angry, he banged his fists against the steel door. "Damn you, Azula!" he yelled. "Damn you to hell!" He turned and slammed his back against the wall of his cell and slid down to crouch in the corner. "Damn you," he whispered as thoughts of Katara slipped into his mind once more and warm tears escaped his eyes as he buried his face in his knees. "Damn you…"

That night, he cried himself to sleep.

---

Katara unrolled her sleeping mat and blanket and lay down for a few hours of sleep. After retrieving their packs, the group had walked for a few more hours before Sokka deemed it safe to find a place to rest for the night. However, Sokka was still paranoid and insisted that they set up a watch schedule. He, of course, insisted on taking first watch, then it was Toph, and then Aang. Katara would start the next night.

She laid her head down on the cold mat and stared at the others. It was dark, due to Sokka insisting they not make a fire for fear of it being seen. She watched her brother. He sat down next to Suki with his rifle in his lap; she had passed out immediately after lying down. He looked down at her and caringly pulled her blanket up over her shoulders before gently caressing her cheek. Katara squeezed her eyes shut and rolled over. She tried not to think of what it would be like if Zuko were with them. Seeing her brother with Suki just made her hurt more. It reminded her too much of the young German and she did not want that. She wanted him there with her, not locked away in some death camp. She wanted to go back and save him, but Sokka would not allow it. She had thought about going back later after they had gotten Suki to safety but she was unsure of whether he would be alive or not. He was a traitor to his own country, was he not? And for the German's, the punishment for treason was death.

She sighed. Shutting out the others, she let her mind reel in thoughts of the man she loved and before she fell asleep from exhaustion, a single tear ran down the side of her face and fell onto the sleeping mat.

**A/N: Hope you liked. And yes, I hold strong to the belief that guys can cry themselves to sleep. They just don't do it that often (plus I think Zuko had enough insentive to do so). **

**Oh, and Zuko and Azula like to mess with each other. That's why he was making all those snide comments. I love it, it reminds me of me and my twin sister... I miss the good ol' days when she lived here... Not really though. We fought too much.**


	10. 10 Eli

**A/N: FINALLY! Another chapter! Sorry I hadn't gotten this up sooner, but as you all know, it is the end if the semester and things can get pretty stressful this time of year. This is when my life goes -ppbth- down the drain. With ROTC and college work combined, I've had a lot on my plate. But I still got this chapter done, even though it is long! Yay! **

**I love Eli, he's so cool... :)**

Chapter 10—Eli

Zuko awoke to the sound of his cell door sliding open with an audible screech. He raised his head off the cold, concrete floor groggily and he blinked as a pair of pants and a shirt was thrown at him. Confused, he held the cloth up and stared at it, not paying attention to the guard standing above him angrily. It was not until the guard yelled at him to get up that the memories of the night's events returned to him. Sitting up, he closed his eyes and sighed. He was not ready to begin the end of his life, but he knew he had no choice. The guard remained standing in front of Zuko as he quickly removed his Nazi uniform and replaced it with the prisoner garb that had been rudely handed to him. With the greatest regret, Zuko removed the swastika arm band from his old uniform and placed in on his upper arm while the guard held him at gun point.

"Hurry up!" the guard barked as he grabbed Zuko by the sleeve and dragged him out of the cell. Zuko calmly obeyed, allowing the guard to lead him out of the cell into the grounds of the camp. The sky was still dark and it made him wonder how long he had actually been allowed to sleep. He glanced over to the horizon and noticed only the slightest sliver of light beginning to rise with the morning. Sighing again, he looked down at his feet and followed the guard through the camp. They passed a few buildings until they came across a building with prisoners flowing out of the door around it.

Zuko watched as each one of the men standing outside turned and glared at him with obvious malice in their eyes. He kept his face blank, not wanting to portray any sort of feeling to any of them and looked away. They knew who he was; his arm band gave him away and he would have given anything to be rid of it, to blend with the crowd and to have the others ignorant.

But it was not to be. He knew his sister well and if there was anything she exceeded at, it was mental torture. She had found the best way to put her brother through the worst kind of hell imaginable, and physical exertion was only part of it.

Zuko took his place at the edge of the gaggle of people between an unnaturally skinny boy who was shorter than him and an older man with only slightly more bulk than the boy. He stood at least a head taller than Zuko and his eyes bore down on the German with relentless hatred. Only out of curiosity did Zuko turn to see the boy's reaction. He was quite the opposite of his larger counterpart, nervously staring at him and trying his best to stay as far away from the ex-Nazi as he could.

Deciding that he had had enough, Zuko looked down at his feet and tried his best to avoid any eye contact with any of the other prisoners. He had to survive two months of this; two months and then he would be sent to Berlin to be executed. Zuko almost welcomed that fact. He wanted to die; better that then living like this for the rest of his life. He eagerly awaited his trip to the capital of his home country. To spit on the Fuehrer's shoes seconds before he was to be shot by six armed men. He closed his eyes and imagined the scene with a smile on his face.

"Get moving!" a sharp, authorative voice rang out, jarring Zuko from his thoughts. Opening his eyes, he walked forward with the rest of the group to see what they were doing at the front of the so-called line. The soldiers were handing out tools such as shovels and pickaxes to the workers. Some took large wheelbarrows before they left the building and headed out to the field beyond the encampment. Zuko was unsure of what they were doing out in the field, but he did not care. He only did as he was told and remained to himself as he grabbed a giant wheelbarrow and dragged it off to a pile of sandbags.

There was a group of Jews there filling the bags with sand and pilling them up to be taken to a different location. When Zuko arrived, they all glared at him but allowed him to help them load the wheelbarrow with the sandbags. He worked in silence, not bothering to speak at all and in return, the others did not speak to him. He wanted it that way; it was better than having them accuse him of heinous acts he never committed. He was in no situation to take their ridicule.

Taking two sandbags at a time, he loaded them onto his wheelbarrow and when he turned to grab some more, he was surprised to see that one was handed to him. He blinked, staring at the sandbag with uncertainty before looking up at the man who was handing it to him. He was smiling, a strange sight for a prisoner in a Nazi death camp, and looking at Zuko as if he were a best friend.

Suspicious, Zuko took the last bag and loaded it onto the wheelbarrow before picking it up and leaving without saying a word. He distrusted the man. No one had ever smiled at him like that in his life with the exception of four people; his mother, his uncle Iroh, his cousin Lu Ten, and Katara. His heart sank as the beautiful smile of the woman he loved entered his mind. Her bright, blue eyes and endearing smile were all he could think of as he dragged the wheelbarrow filled with sandbags across the camp. He remembered how happy he was when she had asked him to dance, how fast his heart beat from more than just the dance. He frowned from his anger at his own people. He was determined to see Katara before he was to be executed. One way or another, he would see her again.

He arrived at the edge of the fence where the camp separated the male area from the female area. He stopped the wheelbarrow near another group of workers and began to unload, handing the sandbags to each, hatred-filled faced prisoner. Zuko tried not to look any one of them in the eye as he unloaded the wheelbarrow and focused his gaze on the ground beneath him. He finished unloading in silence before leaving the area with an empty wheelbarrow.

When he returned to refill the wheelbarrow, the man from before was still there and still smiling. Zuko did not understand what made this man smile as he did. It seemed unorthodox for someone as thin and weak as he was, but yet there he was, the kindest expression on his face as if he had never been taken to Auschwitz in the first place. He was curious, but for some reason he could not bring himself to ask. Instead, he gratefully accepted the man's help and left to unload his wheelbarrow once more.

His work was repetitive and tedious, but he kept going, not even bothering to ask why he was moving sandbags from one end of the camp to the next. It was pointless, he knew, but he also knew that that was the point. The Nazis wanted the prisoners to be kept busy in any way possible.

The day passed by agonizingly slow. It seemed an eternity before the heat of the afternoon set in and the sky glowed a deep orange. Zuko wiped sweat from his brow as he once again picked up the full wheelbarrow and pulled it across the camp. As the night approached, the sky darkened and the air grew colder. When the glow in the sky was no longer present, the guards kept the prisoners working for several more hours under the light of several oil lamps before they led them back inside for their meal. Zuko deposited his wheelbarrow back at the tool shed before following the quiet crowd to the outdoor mess hall. They stood in a disheveled line and received only one bowl of something he hoped was soup. It smelled awful and tasted even worse, but he forced himself to stomach it knowing it was all he was going to get.

He sat alone, his fellow captives shunning him and sitting at least ten feet away from him. Every so often one would shoot him a dirty look, but he just ignored it and concentrated on downing his soup without hurling it back up again.

The soldiers did not give them very much time to eat and it was only five minutes later that they began barking orders at them, yelling at the prisoners to empty their bowls and drop them in the wash basin before returning to their sleeping quarters. Zuko did as he was told, getting in line and dropping his bowl in a large bucket filled with soapy water and leaving the rest of the captives with his escort of armed guards back to his cell. The sounds of the guards yelling at their Jewish captives slowly faded out as he walked between two soldiers to the building that his holding cell resided in. The guard in front opened the door to the building when they arrived and the guard behind him shoved him roughly inside and they continued walking until they arrived at his cold, metal cell.

The door creaked opened and he was shoved in like before but his foot caught on the floor and he fell hard on the cold concrete. He winced from the pain in his sore limbs and did not look up at his escorts as they slammed the door shut behind him. Forcing himself off the floor, Zuko crawled over to the corner of his cell and gripped his knees in an attempt to get comfortable. It failed and he ended up letting his limps sag limply at his sides as he leaned his head against the wall of the cell and fell asleep almost instantly from exhaustion.

---

Almost immediately after falling asleep it seemed he was being woken up once again by the guards. He groaned as he forced himself up into a sitting position and allowed the soldiers to pull him roughly to his feet. He swayed for a moment until he stood still and was dragged to the middle of the room and thrust into the cold, uncomfortable chair. Zuko looked up, bewildered and not understanding why he was not led out of the room to work with the rest of the captives. He opened his mouth to ask but nothing came out. Instead, his unsaid question was answered when the very person he did not want to see walked through the open cell door.

"Zuzu," she said, a malevolent smile playing across her face. "So glad you decided to stay behind for a little chat."

Zuko rolled his eyes. "Like I had a choice in the matter," he grumbled.

Azula did not reply to his sarcastic comment, only smiled and snapped her fingers at one of the soldiers near her and then pointed at her brother. He nodded once, muttered a clear "Yes, Ma'am," and tied Zuko's wrists to the arms of the chair, ensuring that he could not move. He glared daggers at his twin sister as she continued to smile and walk circles around him.

"Tell me, brother," she began. "I'm curious, why is it that you would risk your life to betray your country? What possessed you, of all things, to save a gypsy from a fate she so obviously deserved?"

Azula's words made his rage boil inside him. "She didn't deserve to be raped!" Zuko blurted out. He struggled against his bonds fruitlessly. Azula raised an eyebrow, surprised at her brother's outburst.

"Oh?" She fingered a coiled up whip at her belt thoughtfully. "You think so? You want to know what I think?" She circled around behind him and placed her hands on his shoulders, squeezing just hard enough to make him flinch. "I think a gypsy or a Jew deserves whatever punishment our soldiers or the Fuehrer so orders or thinks necessary; and if rape is decided upon, so be it."

Zuko shook his shoulders free of his sister's grip. "That's not true," he stated. "No one deserves that kind of punishment, no matter what they did. No one deserves to be here at this camp for punishment, either."

"Quite the contrary, dear brother," she countered. "These people are the reason for our country's bad reputation after the First World War. They deserve what we give them."

"No, they don't!" Zuko's blood was beginning to boil from his rage. How could she say such things? "And they aren't the reason why we're in this mess! Our fucked up government is!"

Azula frowned. It was obvious that she did not like her brother's comment. "Tell me," she said, moving back to her first question. "What is the reason why you came here to free one of the female prisoners?"

Zuko knitted his eyebrows together and lowered his head. Closing his eyes, he remembered the pleading faces of the group he had saved when they had wanted to go rescue their friend. Katara's face was what stood out the most for him, her pleading eyes begging him to help them. They haunted him, made him wish he had never agreed to take them to Auschwitz in the first place. Yet in a way he was glad he agreed to go. If he hadn't he would have never been able to get to know the gypsy girl as he had. He was grateful for the opportunity, however short it was, to be able to love Katara for all she was and have her love him in return.

He opened his eyes and glanced to his side, his eyebrows still knitted together. He refused to answer his sister's question and instead he remained quiet. Azula frowned and looked at one of her soldiers, nodding in her brother's direction. The soldier nodded once before walking over to the man strapped to the metal chair and beating him upside the head with the butt of his rifle. Zuko groaned and slowly and painfully sat up straight to glare at his sister.

Staring at her with all the hatred he had, he spoke in a strong, uncompromising voice. "You're a crazy bitch, Azula."

Her face contorted with rage. Her eyes bore down on her brother as she spoke to him. "What did you just say?"

Zuko did not even smile as he repeated his insult, even with a few more add-ons. "I said you're a psychotic bitch! No wonder you're still a virgin; what kind of man would want to get with a woman who was sure to kill him once they were through? And since I'm pretty sure that we're not Wolf Spiders, no man is willing to go through your torture for a bit of pleasure. You're just not worth it."

Azula was silent, her rage slowly boiling up inside her each second she remained unspoken. Finally, after two minutes of silence, she lunged at her brother. Taking a knife out of a sheath on her belt, she pressed the blade to his neck, her face an inch away from Zuko's. She was so close he could feel her hot breath on his skin from her rapid breathing. They looked into each other's eyes with loathing and revulsion as she spoke with a voice that shook from her fury.

"You're going to wish you had never opened your mouth, brother," she growled. The knife was pressed so hard against his skin that a thin trickle of blood began to seep from his neck and drip down to his chest. She turned to her guards. "Shackle him to the wall," she ordered.

The soldiers did as they were told, untying Zuko from the chair, the hoisted him to his feet and dragged him to the back wall of the cell where a pair of shackles hung from the ceiling. The soldiers grabbed his wrists and raised them above his head, placing them in the thick, metal cuffs and tightening them, letting him hang facing the wall. He felt the guard grab the back of his shirt and rip it open to reveal his bare back. He knew what was coming; he had seen his sister fingering the whip thoughtfully throughout their conversation.

"Searing pain should teach you not to open your mouth again." He turned back to look and confirmed his suspicions. Azula had her whip out and ready for use. He turned back to face the wall, bracing himself for the lashes that were sure to come.

The first hit came with intense agony. The end of the whip cut deep into his flesh making him cry out in pain. A few seconds later, the second stroke came, creating what Zuko only assumed as an X across his back. More lashes connected with his bare skin, creating more gashes and bringing more blood. Azula let out all her wrath with each stroke of her whip, making the pain even less bearable. Zuko tried as hard as he could not to scream. Gritting his teeth, he squeezed his eyes shut and balled his hands into fists, trying to focus on anything but the sharp sting of the whip's slashes.

But he could not avert his mind from the pain when it hurt more than anything he had ever endured. His skin felt like it was on fire and that something was going to burst from his back if the pain did not go away. Several times he nearly blacked out, but he held on strong, determined not to show weakness in front of his sister. Zuko let out strained grunts here and there, unable to help it from all the pain and agony he was put through with each stroke of the whip. He clenched his teeth together, breathing rapidly through them and soon he was drenched in sweat from head to toe. Azula had put him in more pain than he had ever experienced in his entire life.

He lost count of how many times his sister attacked him with her leather flog. He knew it had to be more than ten times from the amount of pain emanating from his back. She kept going until suddenly, Azula let up her incessant lashes. Zuko panted and felt the cool sweat begin to trickle down his face from his scalp. Confused, he slowly turned around, careful not to make any excessive movements and rip open the flesh on his back any more than it already was. He saw her speaking with a guard just outside the cell doorway. She nodded before turning back to her brother and smiling.

"Looks like the Sonderkommando have another group to get ready for a send off," she said, sounding oddly happy. "I must go and assist them." She handed her whip to the guard who had chained Zuko to the back wall. "Finish up with him. Fifteen more should do the trick. And get him a new shirt when you're done." She then turned and left, leaving the big soldier to do her work.

Zuko saw him smile before he turned and faced the wall again. Azula had mentioned the Sonderkommando, a group of Jewish prisoners who helped the others get ready to enter the gas chambers for execution. He squeezed his eyes shut and let a single tear fall for those poor souls. It must hurt them to have to help their friends, knowing that they would soon die.

He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he almost did not notice when the guard behind him began his own set of lashes. But he felt it and actually screamed in agony this time. This first lash was worse than the others, most likely due to the fact that the old sting had lingered for too long and the new sting just added on to it. This man was better than Azula, however. He was quicker and more hurried in his strikes so the old pain could delve into the new and it was no longer increasingly painful. Almost as soon as it had started, it was over.

Another soldier came over and unlocked the shackles that held his arms above his head. He slumped to the floor when he was released, weak from blood loss and pain. He tried to stand, but his legs were too weak and he fell back to the concrete floor. Laughing, the soldier that had finished flogging him tossed a new, yet just as ratty, shirt at him.

"Put it on," he ordered. Zuko did as he was told. Cringing from the open wounds on his back that he was sure looked like several train tracks, he removed his old, torn shirt and pulled the new shirt over his head. The other guard tossed him his swastika arm band, waited for him to put it on, and then grabbed his upper arm and dragged him out of the cell. "Back to work," the man said, sounding amused.

Zuko sighed. It was going to be rather difficult to work in the shape he was in, but he had to, he had to unless he wanted the Sonderkommando to attend to him just like the rest of the prisoners. They walked out of the building and out onto the grounds. The Jews had already been put to work and all the tools from the shed had been taken out. With nowhere else to work, his escorts left him at the sandbag pile to fill the bags and load them onto the wheelbarrows that came their way. Zuko grabbed a sack off a pile and walked to a nearby sandpit. Taking a small shovel that had been leaning against the side of the pit, he slowly and painfully began to shovel sand into the bag. Once it was full, he tied off the top and dragged it instead of carried it over to the pile to be loaded onto a waiting wheelbarrow.

He groaned when he saw the waiting wheelbarrow. The man who had it glared maliciously at him when he approached, but Zuko just ignored him. Squatting down, he grabbed the sandbag he had dragged over and attempted to pick it up. His loss of blood had made him weak and frail and when he tried to stand with the bag, his knees wobbled and gave out causing him to fall over and drop the sandbag. Frustrated, he tried again only to get the same results. He slammed his fist into the bag and, deciding to leave and let the others load the wheelbarrow, he turned to go back and fill more bags with sand but was stopped by a voice behind him.

"Need some help?" Puzzled, he turned around to see the smiling man from the day before standing by the sandbag he had attempted and failed to pick up.

"What?" he asked, knowing very well it was a pointless question.

The man's smile never faltered. "I saw you having trouble with the bag. Do you want help with them?"

Zuko closed his eyes and smiled to himself. He was glad for help but was unsure what to make of the joyful man offering it. Nodding, he walked back to the sandbag pile. He grabbed one end of the bag while the man took the other end. Together, they hoisted it up and tossed it safely into the wheelbarrow. Now that it was full, the man who carried it gave Zuko one last dirty look before turning and leaving the area. He watched the man's back as he left before turning and heading back to the sand pit to continue filling more sandbags.

When he got there, he was preparing himself to bend over and grab his shovel that he had carelessly tossed to the ground but was surprised once again to see the smiling prisoner handing it to him. He gratefully took it and began filling his own sandbag. The man walked over and worked next to him filling his own bag with sand. Zuko looked at the man with a curious expression but he only smiled in return and continued filling his bag.

They worked in silence for several minutes until their bags were full and the cheerful man left first to deposit his sandbag in the pile as Zuko struggled just to drag his bag across the ground. The man came back when the German had made it to the edge of the sand pit and stopped, resting with his back against the side of the pit.

"It isn't a good idea to get your back dirty," the man said, jumping into the pit next to Zuko. He stared at the man, not sure what his point was until he felt a stinging pain in his back where the whip had dug into his flesh. He quickly withdrew away from the sandy wall and attempted to wipe off his back but cringed from the pain and stopped. "Here, let me," the man offered. He moved behind Zuko and began to lightly brush off his back. "It's too bad they did not give you any bandages for this. You're bleeding all over your shirt and if you're not careful, it could get infected."

Zuko groaned. "I know," he said, frustrated. He squatted to lift his sandbag as soon as the man was done dusting him off. "I'm just not used to having train track gashes on my back." He was sarcastic, something he hadn't been in quite some time and it seemed foreign to him.

Again, he struggled to lift the bag and the man again helped by lifting the other end. They brought the bag out of the pit and tossed it with the others on the ever-growing and shrinking pile.

"By the way," the man started. "May I ask how you got those gashes?"

Zuko glared at him. "May I ask why you seem unnaturally happy all the time?"

The man laughed, making Zuko raise an eyebrow. "Because, my fellow prisoner," he began, grabbing another empty bag and filling it with sand as Zuko did the same. "I am a man of God. I know that no matter what happens to me in the mortal plain, God will take care of me in the afterlife."

The German gave the man an odd look but shook it off and answered the question directed at him. "My sister gave them to me," he said, focusing his gaze on the sand he was shoveling into the bag. The man's eyes widened as he looked up disbelievingly at Zuko who frowned and concentrated on filling his sandbag.

"How-?" he began to ask, but thought better of it and turned to his own shovel. They were silent for several more minutes before either one of them spoke again.

"This morning," Zuko said as they were carrying the full sandbags to the pile, making the other man raise a confused eyebrow again.

"Excuse me?" he asked.

"My sister gave me these gashes this morning," Zuko repeated.

"Who is your sister, may I ask?"

Zuko did not answer right away but concentrated on loading the wheelbarrow that had returned empty and was waiting to be full again. When he did speak, he offered an explanation instead of an answer. "First of all," he began. "You must understand that my family is not the normal happy family most people have. My father was a very aggressive man and beat my mother, eventually driving her out of the house. She died soon after." The man listened intently to Zuko's story and he was not even sure why he was telling this crazy Jewish man his whole life story. But he kept talking, not bothering to stop himself. "The only people in my family that ever treated me like a person were my mother, my uncle, and my cousin. All three of them are gone now and there is only one person left who-." He clamped his mouth shut, catching himself from speaking of Katara. It hurt him too much to think of her so he always tried to think of something else when she crossed his mind. He continued, ignoring the puzzled look the other man gave him. "Um, anyway, my twin sister was always my father's favorite and I was always shunned as the failure. Even when I climbed fast through the German enlisted ranks, my sister moved on to become an officer, and a good one at that. So, naturally, I was the outcast."

They finished loading the wheelbarrow and it was taken away to be unloaded as the two went back to once again fill more sandbags. "So where do the gashes on your back come into play?"

Zuko sighed. "As you may have guessed, I used to be a Nazi, but am now a prisoner to my own people. I'm not proud of the part my country is playing in this war, I never was. And I'm ashamed to say I went along with it anyway. Eventually, I couldn't take it anymore and I betrayed my people, killing a man and injuring my commanding officer. I was captured and here I am. The night I got here, I found out that my own twin sister is the commanding officer for this place." He looked the man directly in the eyes as he told the next chapter in his story. "Azula is a very sadistic person and enjoys instilling as much pain as she possible can on someone. Instead of having me executing immediately, she decided to keep me here, making me wear my old swastika." He pointed to the red, white and black arm band he wore. "You've seen the effects it has. No one but you will talk to me." He paused. "Speaking of which, why are you talking to me?" It was true, Zuko had been wondering why the man had been so willing to even be in the general vicinity of the ex-Nazi. It was a curious thing to think about.

The man only smiled and tied off the end of his full bag of sand. "That is an answer for a later time. Right now you are in the middle of a story."

Zuko said nothing as he tied off his own bag and dragged it as far as he could without hurting himself further than he already was. When the man came back to help him carry the bag out of the sand pit, he wrapped up his story.

"This morning Azula came into my holding cell to interrogate me on my reasons for treason. I insulted her and she ended up punishing me by flogging me for fifteen minutes straight."

"Wow," the man said before growing silent. For a while the only sounds they heard were the sounds of the sand on the shovels, the sandbags thumping onto their piles, and wooden wheelbarrows creaking and bouncing over bumps in the paths. After several hours had passed, Zuko looked up to the darkening sky to see that evening was soon to be upon them. He was glad that the day was almost over. His stomach growled angrily from the lack of food he had received and he was almost impatient to get to the disgusting slop the Nazis served them for supper.

Once the sun set over the horizon, Zuko's back was on fire. The gashes his sister had given him had become inflamed and it hurt him to move even in the slightest motion. After several more hours of enduring the pain, the guards walked into the work yard and rounded up all the prisoners and herded them back to the barracks. Zuko and the man who had helped him walked back together, sticking close together and trying to blend into the crowd so they were not picked on by the guards.

The man softly patted Zuko on the shoulder as they headed for the outdoor mess hall. "My name's Eli," he said, his signature smile playing across his face. "May I have the pleasure of knowing yours?"

Zuko hesitated, debating on whether he should tell this man his name or not. But then he had told him his whole life story, so what was the harm in a simple name? "Zuko," he replied. "I'm Zuko."

Eli nodded. "It's very nice to meet you," he said. He stopped talking as they entered the mess hall and grabbed their bowls, filling them with the slop that was disguised as food.

Their dinner break was as short as it was the night before. After five minutes of muscling past the gag reflex, the guards called for them to empty their bowls and place them in the wash basin. They did as they were told, and no sooner after he had let go of his bowl was he dragged off by his escorts. Zuko left with them away from the other prisoners to his own lonely cell.

As usual, he was shoved unceremoniously into the metal cell and had the door slammed as soon as he was inches passed the metal door. Zuko grunted from the pain in his back as he moved to his own corner he had designated for sleeping. It took him a long time to find a suitable position to sleep in without have his wounds open up again. He hoped that they would be somewhat closed by the time the guards came in to wake him up in the morning. Finally finding a comfortable position to sleep in, Zuko fell asleep almost instantly. That night his dreams consisted of nothing but the woman he loved. However much he tried, he could not get Katara out of his mind.

---

Days went by with nothing changing. Azula came into his cell every few days at night to interrogate him. She asked many questions, including where he was going when they had left Auschwitz. When he would not tell her, she slammed her elbow into his face, breaking his nose and causing blood to gush down his face. He could taste the metallic flavor of his blood as it oozed into his teeth and flowed under his tongue. Zuko watched her leave with a smile on her face as the guard untied him from the chair and tossed him face down in the back corner of his cell. He was then thrown a towel and promptly told to wipe his face before he was locked in the dark.

The next day, he was sent back to work, his nose still cracked and out of place. And to his luck, he was set to work with Eli once again. When the Jewish man saw his face, he offered to put his bones back into place. Unable to do it himself, he conceded and allowed the man to squeeze his nose quite painfully and jerk it back into place. Zuko only grunted from the pain, knowing that it had hurt a lot worse when he had received the injury than when it was fixed. Sniffing a few times and wiping the snot and blood from his nose with his shirt, Zuko continued working, ignoring the pain of his body and hungry growls of his stomach.

They worked diligently throughout the day, not talking much and fighting the urge to sit down and take a short break. Zuko and Eli worked in a different area this time. They had pick-axes and shovels and they dug a trench, or as Zuko called it, a "death pit." He knew exactly what they were and attempted not to think too hard on the subject. Every time he did, he gave himself a headache and the worst one he had was when he imagined Katara and the others as dead, gassed out corpses buried underneath hundreds of other dead bodies.

Zuko rubbed his temples in an attempt to remove the horrible image from his mind and kept digging. It was not long until the woman he loved entered back into his mind and the task at hand suddenly became distant and unimportant. He was jarred from his thoughts, however, when the sound of Eli's kind voice sounded behind him.

"Who is she?" he asked.

The German whirled around in surprise and saw the man casually tossing earth from his shovel out of the hole they were in. "What are you talking about?" He had no idea what was on this man's mind.

"Who is she?" he repeated. "The girl you keep thinking about."

Zuko's eyes widened slightly in surprise, not sure how he knew what he was thinking, but then frowned and went back to shoveling. "I don't know what you're talking about." He thrust the end of his spade into the soft earth and pulled out a shovelful of dirt before sending it up and out of the hole.

Eli smiled and moved right next to the German. He nudged him softly before continuing his inquiry. "I know no one looks like that while thinking of how miserable they are. It's obvious; I see it in your eyes." He paused to dig up more dirt and toss it out of the hole. "Is she your wife?"

Zuko sighed and shook his head. "No," was all he said.

They were silent for a while until Eli spoke again. "Who is she, then?"

Zuko did not say anything. He really did not want to get into that conversation with anyone. Not until he was with her again; not until he could hold her in his arms again. But he answered anyway, not even knowing the reason why. "She's a gypsy," he said, a slight hint of anger in his voice. "And she is the woman I love." He turned his back to Eli after he spoke, not wanting to see the expression on the man's face from his comment. He kept digging, trying not to think of the reaction of the Jewish man. It was unorthodox and strange that he, a Nazi, would fall in love with someone who was of the race they were trying to eradicate. But she was the reason he was there in the first place, the reason he no longer fought for Germany, the reason he betrayed his own people, the reason why he was an outcast. Eli should shun him like all the rest of those there in the camp, like those who had put him in there. He belonged nowhere, with no one, and he was not even sure if he even deserved Katara's love, let alone Eli's acceptance.

Zuko concentrated hard on his work and was surprised to feel Eli's hand lay gently on his shoulder. He turned around to see the man's face was very understanding and kind. He was too shocked to make any kind of expression as he saw the man smile and place both hands on Zuko's shoulders.

"It is alright to love someone even if they are of different blood than you are," he said philosophically. "That is what separates you from the rest of your people. You accept others and love them for who they are. You don't judge them by what race or religion they are. That is what makes you different; what makes you better than them."

"But look what I've done," Zuko objected. "I've made a mess of my life, I've betrayed my people, betrayed my _family_, and I'm no closer to ending this war or being with her than I was before."

Eli shook his head and went back to shoveling. "You are wrong," he replied. "Being here is not your fault and you could have chosen to return to your military, but you didn't. You decided to defy them and be put in here, to be humiliated and put to work. You did the right thing by making that choice, and if you and the woman you love are truly meant to be together, you will find her in the end."

Zuko just stared at the man, unable to decipher what in hell he had just said. It took him a while, but soon after he was able to understand the man's words. Eli was right, he was supposed to be there, and he was supposed to escape. But how? How on earth was he supposed to escape with his twin sister, who knew him so well, watching his every move and holding "meetings" with him every other night? It seemed impossible and improbable. He turned to Eli.

"How am I supposed to see Katara again when I can't even find a way to escape this place?" he asked.

Eli only said one sentence before returning to work. "Trust in God and anything is possible."

---

Zuko sat in the back corner of his cell curled up in the fetal position and contemplating the conversation that transpired earlier that day. Azula had not visited him that night and he was thankful for that, but he was still stuck there, stuck in a cold, metal cell at night and out working with those who ridicule him during the day. He had no plan for escaping and failed to come up with even one plan, either fail-safe or stupid. But what about what Eli had said at the end of the conversation? "Trust in God and anything is possible"? What did that mean? Zuko was never a religious man and was never sure on whether he believed God existed or not. But what if Eli was right? Maybe he should trust in God. It might just work.

Zuko was unsure if anything was possible without making it happen himself, but he just thought he would give it a try. Raising his head and looking up at the ceiling of his cell, trying to imagine seeing the starry sky passed it and feeling very stupid, he forced himself to comply and began a very awkward and very unsure prayer.

"God, if you're really there, help me leave this place. Help me see Katara again and taste freedom one more time. I know I can end this war if I am just given a chance. Please, help me leave here and do my best to save these people. Amen."

That said, he lowered his head and rested it on his knees, falling asleep instantly.

---

It had been almost a week since they had left Zuko behind in the Death Camp known as Auschwitz. Katara tried not to think of him as she, her brother and the others trudged along slowly towards Denmark. The small, peaceful country had yet to be taken by the Germans so they all figured it was a safe haven to hide out until the war was over. They traveled north, from the forest outside Auschwitz to grassy hills and back into another forest.

The group grew tired and weary with every step they took but none were as bad as Suki. After her days in the death camp, her muscles were not as strong as they used to be and Sokka had to help her walk everyday they traveled. However, her health was improving gradually as they moved and near the end of the first week, she was able to walk for a few hours on her own without a pack until she had to go back and lean on Sokka's shoulder.

It was nighttime now as they all sat around their camp in the large forest near a city not far from the German/Denmark border. They had a fire going, figuring they were as safe as they were going to be in Germany, and Katara and Aang used it to cook their dinner. They ate in silence, as they did every night so they could keep their ears peeled for any disturbances in the foliage around their camp.

Katara watched her bother as they ate. He would eat a bit of his own food and then hand Suki the rest of it, selflessly sacrificing some of his own food to feed his girlfriend. Her heart was tied in a knot. It had been like that since the rescue mission at Auschwitz. She missed Zuko, missed him more than she did her parents or her grandmother. Did she love him? She did not know, but she did know that she liked him, a lot. He was there when no one was. He saved her when no one else could. He was her knight and she was his princess. But now it was time for the princess to save her knight from certain death.

The entire time she had been traveling, she had been working in an escape plan to save Zuko from his terrible fate. She would disguise herself once again, but as a supply soldier. Then, right under their noses, she would find him and sneak him out in one of the packages that carried uniforms and other assorted clothes. There was only one problem with her plan. She was a week away from where Zuko was held captive and she also had to find a way to ditch her brother and the rest of the group to go back. She had not figured out how she would go about doing that yet. Maybe when they were all asleep; tonight she would leave.

"Someone's coming," Toph suddenly said quite calmly. "They're right behind me."

Everyone looked up, frightened, and glanced behind the blind girl and tried to see who it was through the dark.

"I don't see anyone," Aang said, rather nervous.

"They're too far away," Toph said. "But they are coming our direction."

"Then we must hide," Sokka said, taking charge. "Everyone, up in the trees."

They all obeyed, climbing the tree trunks as fast as they could to get out of sight of those after them. Katara was the last one up after helping Toph and Aang up into the tree. She climbed up and found a secure spot to sit on a thick branch and then looked down to watch as the men entered the campsite.

She was surprised to see that they were not wearing German uniforms but civilian clothes just as they were. The men poked around the campsite, digging through their packs, smelling their food, and feeding the fire. She glanced over to Sokka and nearly fell out of the tree from surprise. He had his rifle out and pointed down at the men below, ready to fire. She shook her head no but he seemed not to notice as his finger slowly squeezed on the trigger.

When the men began to talk, Suki suddenly put her arm out in front of her boyfriend and stopped him. He looked at her with surprise. She returned his look with a quieting finger to her lips.

"Shhh," she whispered. "They're speaking Russian."

Indeed they were. Katara just noticed, now that she was not too intent on seeing them as enemies, she realized that they were speaking in a language she did not understand. She turned to Suki.

"Do you know what they're saying?" she asked.

Suki shook her head. "No, I cannot speak Russian, but I can recognize it."

Katara sighed and looked back down to the men in their camp speaking their funny language. _Who are these men? _She wondered. It was fact that very few Nazis spoke Russian and the Russians were fighting against the Germans. So what were these men doing in enemy territory? It seemed very odd and out of place. Katara did not know if she could trust them, even if they were speaking a different language.

All of a sudden, Suki's foot slipped from her tree branch and her feet fell off her perch. She would have fallen all the way to the ground had Sokka not caught her and kept her at bay. She let out a small gasp before Sokka caught her. She did not fall below the canopy hiding them from view, but the men below had heard her slip and gasp. The one that appeared to be the leader motioned for one of them to investigate. A small man, who could have been just a boy, waked to the base of the tree and looked up. Obviously not seeing anything, he turned back to his leader and said something in his language that was replied by the leader in the same language. Nodding, the boy turned back to the tree and began to climb it.

They all knew what was going to happen once the boy had reached their level. They would be caught and brought down for interrogation. But there was nothing any of them could do to stop it and before they knew it, they were staring at the boy face to face. He looked at each one of them, first at Sokka and his rifle, then to Katara, Toph, and Aang, but when he laid eyes on Suki's shaved head, he smiled and greeted them warmly.

"Hello there!" he said in perfect German. "It's okay, we're not Nazis. Why don't you come down?" He then disappeared back under the canopy of the tree.

They all exchanged funny looks before Toph spoke. "Well," she began. "They already know we're here, so why not go down? Besides, this tree is getting rather uncomfortable." Then, without anyone agreeing, she slipped off her tree branch and jumped down to the ground.

Katara sighed. Knowing that Toph was right, she nodded to her brother and jumped down herself and was soon followed by Aang, Sokka, and Suki. She looked around at the men who had entered their camp. They were all of different sizes, big, small, and medium. She studied the leader. He was very handsome, with bright brown hair, tanned skin and defined muscles, he reminded Katara of Zuko a lot. But he was not the man she had fallen for back at the Festival. He was different, more rugged and had a softer face.

"Hello, fellow travelers," he said in almost perfect German. "My name is Jet. My friends and I have traveled a long way from Russia to gather information on the war for our country. God smiles down on us now that we've had good fortune to run into escapees from a concentration camp."

Katara stared at the man. _How did he know?_

**A/N: WOOOOO! Yay for Jet! I could not resist putting him in here. Jet is all that is man...not really...but he's awesome... :) By the way, here is Jet's age: 26.**

**Poor Zuko, has to deal with Azula's torture. I know that Nazis did not usually use whips, but I just thought a whipe would be cool and it kinda fits with Azula, don't you think? Zuko's jsut lucky she didn't have a Cat-of-Ninetails. -shudders- That would be even more painful...**

**Hope you all enjoyed and see you next time! **


	11. 11 Sonderkommando

**A/N: Aha! You people thought I dropped off the face of the earth, didn't you!? Come on! Admit it, you did! :)**

**FINALLY!!! After the end of semester exams and the defeat of writer's block, I got this chapter finished! I do appologize for being so late on this chapter but I kinda had to focus on school work more. Sorry... Academics first, you know!**

**HJ, your question about partisans will be answered in this chapter. And if you have any more, just ask. I got my information on them from a history of special ops book.**

Chapter 11—Sonderkommando

Katara stared at the Russian man as he and her brother conversed on the other side of the camp fire. Normally she was a very trusting individual, but for some reason, she did not trust this man who called himself Jet. For one, he interrupted her plan to escape and rescue Zuko from Auschwitz, and two, he knew too much about the group at first glance than Zuko knew after the first hour of meeting them. Who was this man? Was he really from Russia? And if he was, what was he doing this far into enemy territory? It seemed a little too farfetched for normal Russian soldiers.

"Sorry to barge in on you all like that, but when we saw your fire, we were a little cautious," she heard Jet say. "It seemed odd to us to see something like that during times like these."

"What are you all doing here in the first place?" Suki asked, who was leaning on Sokka's arm, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders.

Jet smiled warmly at the girl. "We're special operations soldiers sent on a mission here in Germany." He gestured to the rest of his team. "These are all my friends and my team. This is Longshot," he said, pointing at a quiet man with black hair who held a big rifle with a scope mounted on the top. "My second in command, Smellerbee." He moved to a small woman with short, ruffled hair who could be easily mistaken for a boy. "The boy who found you up in the tree, we call him The Duke, and our civilian Partisan, Pipsqueak." Katara cocked her head to the side. Pipsqueak seemed like a very odd name for someone like this man. He was very large and very muscular. His voice was deep and he was in no way, shape, or form, a pipsqueak. How on earth did he get a name like that?

"How did you know we came from Auschwitz?" It was Sokka who asked the question.

"The girl," The Duke answered. Katara raised an eyebrow at the boy's remark. _You'll have to be more specific than that. There are three girls here. _"Her head is shaved and she looks very weak and mistreated." It took a minute for Katara to realize that he was talking about Suki. "She's very skinny and her face is very pale and tired-looking. Obvious signs of a Concentration Camp. And seeing as Auschwitz is the closest one to where we are, I'd say that that is where you came from."

Katara watched as her brother began conversing with the man who called himself Jet. She did not hear what they said but turned her head away angrily. She stared into the fire, pondering over recent events. Her plans were foiled and these newcomers were to blame. Now how was she supposed to rescue Zuko? Now that these men were here, she could no longer escape back to Auschwitz without anyone noticing. It was just impossible now.

Her eyes began to burn from the light of the fire and for a moment she thought she saw Zuko's stern but caring face in the flames. Blinking, she had to tell herself that she was seeing things before the fire flickered as someone tossed another log on it, making sparks fly out. One landed on the back of Katara's hand and she yelped and jumped to her feet.

"Ow!" she cried, shaking her hand trying to get the cinder off her skin. Sokka came right to her side, immediately asking for her hand. She let her brother examine her burn as she looked around angrily for the culprit who placed the log on the fire.

"Sorry," Jet said as he walked around the campfire just as Sokka did to examine her hand. "I didn't mean to burn your hand." She glared at him angrily and looked away from him. "Are you okay?" he asked, reaching for her hand. Sokka released her and let Jet look at her injury.

"I'm fine!" she argued, attempting to pull her hand away before he could grab it, but he caught it before she could stuff it in her pocket. She cringed as his hand rubbed against her burn but did not pull away. "I told you, it's fine," she protested.

Jet brought her close to the fire for better light. "There is no need for lies," he said, turning her hand over in the fire light. He turned around to his group. "Pipsqueak, bring the medical bag." He then turned back to Katara and smiled. She still scowled at him but he seemed to ignore her malice as he took the medical supplies from Pipsqueak. "Hold still, please."

Katara squirmed when Jet first took a wet towel to her hand. Her brother then came up and took her other hand after the Russian nodded in his direction and she squeezed his hand in turn to take her mind off the pain. Once Jet was done cleaning off the soot and dirt, he rubbed her burn with an odd sort of paste that cooled her skin before wrapping it up with a cloth from the medical bag. He then looked up at the gypsy girl and smiled.

"There you go," he said, staring her right in the eyes. Katara looked right back and noticed that his eyes were solid black. She wondered if it was just a trick from the firelight that made them look that black; if they were really just dark brown. But they still weren't the amber color that Zuko had. That beautiful amber that she saw every time she looked in the fire suddenly reminded her of how much she disliked and distrusted Jet and his men. Katara pulled her hand back out of Jet's hand and glared at him. He only sighed and stood up, returning to his place around the fire.

"If you really are Russian," she began, making Jet stop and look back at her. "What are you doing so far south into enemy territory? Surely your mission shouldn't take you this far south." Every eye in the camp had turned to her but she did not care or even notice. Her gaze was focused on Jet as she studied even the slightest movement he made.

He sighed and sat back down right across the fire from her. "That is a very good question," he said, almost as if he were trying to avoid answering her question. "But tonight is not a good time for its answer. It looks like we are all rather tired. I suggest we all settle down for the night and get some rest." He turned to Sokka. "Sokka, you can take the first watch tonight. I will take over after you, then Aang, after that, Smellerbee and then Pipsqueak."

Everyone nodded their agreement, all except Katara who only grumbled as she unrolled her sleeping mat and blanket and crawled in to go to sleep. She lay awake for a good hour before finally dozing off, deciding that she would reformulate her plan to save Zuko in the morning.

---

Dirt, the dirt got everywhere, in his wounds, in his clothes, his eyes, fingernails, everywhere. It was even worse in the form of mud. Zuko hated the rain, seeing as it turned the dirt into mud. Not only did it get everywhere, but it was made easier to get everywhere by making him slip and fall down and slipping was not fun when one had to dig a big hole in the ground. It made the dirt fall back into the pit and he had to dig out what he had just tossed out of the hole.

Zuko had been woken up that morning to the sound of rain pounding on the roof of his steel prison. He groaned as he forced himself off the cold, metal floor. He was not looking forward to working out in the rain and was soaked to the bone within two minutes of walking out side. He hoped it would clear up by the end of the day, but his hopes were dashed as they were called back in for their supper and the rain still came down in sheets. Strangely enough, the rain in his bowl made his slop that was passed on as soup taste slightly better and he did not have to muscle passed his gag reflex to stomach it.

As he was led back to his cell, he studied each of the soldiers that took him and envied their heavy coats and furs. Maybe there would at least be a thin blanket waiting for him in his cell when he got back. He rolled his eyes at his thought while his escort opened his cell door before shoving him unceremoniously back inside. Azula was not that generous.

Once again, he was forced to endure a broken sleep from cold and shivering.

The next day, he was placed with Eli again for work. They both worked near the fence that separated the male prisoners from the female prisoners stacking up sand bags once again. As soon as he arrived, Zuko noticed that Eli was not looking like his normal self. He seemed somewhat sickly, more so than usual. He did not talk much but coughed a lot. It was not a small cough that could be ignored; it was almost like a loud, deep-throated cough. It was deep and gritty and sounded like Eli's throat would be torn up if he did not stop.

"Are you okay?" Zuko asked, placing his hand on the man's shoulder when a particularly violent cough seized a hold of him. Eli tried to answer back, saying that he was fine, but his cough took up all of his effort to keep at bay and he could not talk. He only nodded.

Unconvinced, Zuko looked around them to see if they were being watched by any of the guards. His gaze fell on two Nazis conversing with each other while motioning to him and Eli's position. His stomach did a flip flop as Zuko looked back down to Eli, whose cough had not subsided. "Come on, Eli," he said, concern in his voice. "You've got to stop coughing, the guards are taking notice." He looked back up to see the guards he had seen before walking towards them. Frantically, Zuko looked around for the canteen that was left for their area only. Grabbing it off a pile of sandbags, he unscrewed the cap and shoved it in Eli's hands. "Here, drink this, quick!" His friend grabbed the canteen and drank the water in gulps, trying to sooth his dry throat. It only worked for only a short while and he was soon coughing again.

It must have been the rain from the day before. Eli's health was poor to begin with and an added downpour only worsened his condition. Zuko stayed by his friend, constantly giving him gulps of water to ease his parched throat, but it did no good. The guards from before had arrived and, grabbing Zuko by the back of his shirt, threw him to the ground and closed in on Eli.

"It's time for this one to get transferred," said one as he pulled out a note pad and jotted something down.

The other guard grabbed Eli by his thin arm and dragged him to his feet. "Shall I put him with the others?" he asked his partner. The guard with the notepad nodded and the man that held Eli started dragging him off back to the buildings.

Zuko growled, feeling his rage build up inside him. He knew what it meant to be "transferred" in a concentration camp. They were going to gas him, kill him along with many others. Determined not to let that happen to his only friend in the camp, he gathered all the strength he had and tackled the guard that held Eli to the ground. Eli fell to his knees as Zuko and the guard began rolling around in the mud, both fighting to get a hit in on the other. Zuko had rolled on top of the man, punching him with all his might right in the nose. Blood spurted out and it looked bent in an odd direction and the ex-Nazi knew he had broken the man's nose. Furious, the guard tried to throw Zuko off him, but even malnourished and worked to the bone, Zuko still remained the stronger of the two. It looked like he would win the fight had there not been another guard there to break them up.

Zuko was about to land another blow on the guard's already broken nose when he heard the distinct click of a round locking into place right by his head.

"That's quite enough!" the other guard yelled angrily. Zuko slowly turned his head to look up just to stare into the barrel of a rifle and the furious man holding it. The guard had Eli's arm gripped tightly in his hand and the rifle in his other hand. With no other choice, Zuko got off the guard he had tackled to the ground, the barrel of the rifle following his face as he moved. "I will be speaking to the Warden about this and she will decide your punishment." Zuko cringed at those words, knowing that punishment from Azula was never lenient. "But for now, get back to work!" Swinging his rifle over his shoulder, the guard shoved Zuko back into the mud next to a shovel, helped his friend back to his feet and walked off, Eli in tow.

Zuko grumbled and went back to work, digging a trench around the fence and loading sand bags into the trench. It was tiring work, and lonely without Eli to work with him. Without Eli, his fellow workers ridiculed him, shoved him around, spat on him, or otherwise ignored him completely with the exception of a few angry glares.

He worked for only a few minutes when a voice from his right sounded from the other side of the fence. "That was very brave of you." Zuko looked up, startled at the sound of a pretty voice that reminded him of Katara. He was scared, thinking that he had gotten his friends caught after all but when he turned in the direction the voice came from, he sighed with relief at the pretty face he laid eyes on. "Was he a friend of yours?" the girl asked.

Zuko pretended to think for a moment before answering. "Something of the sort, yes," was all he said as he continued to dig. They were silent for a while as neither of them had anything to say and they had to keep quiet so they did not attract the attention of the guards. Zuko studied the woman's features for the first time since she had started talking to him. Her hair was light but her skin was dark. She had blue eyes just like Katara. She was beautiful but with a much rounder face than Katara's. Was she a gypsy too?

"My name's Yue, by the way," she suddenly said.

Zuko stared at her, bewildered. What was with these people and suddenly trusting him? They know what he is, so why were they so friendly to him? He grunted and went back to work, assuming she was just like Eli, believing everyone had a second chance. It was a load of cow dung in his opinion. He knew he did not deserve another chance, not after what he had done as a Nazi. Not after everything he knew and did nothing about.

"Why are you talking to me?" he asked her, wondering what she saw in him.

"I saw you defend that man as they were taking him away," she replied, not looking at him but continuing on with her work. "That was very brave of you."

Zuko watched her as she worked. He still did not understand why she wanted to speak to him, but he did not press the matter. Instead, he looked back down to the trench he was digging and sighed. "No it wasn't," he muttered. He knew she turned and raised an eyebrow at his comment but was glad when she did not say anything on the matter. "So how is it you're over here talking to me?" Zuko asked her. "Won't the guards notice?"

"They could, but I just really wanted to talk to you after seeing you defend your friend from the guards."

Zuko only nodded and continued to dig. When the wheelbarrow came with more sandbags, he abandoned his place by the fence and helped unload the sandbags before returning back to his shovel. "I'm Zuko," he said to her. She only smiled at him and continued working. After three more hours of working, Yue was called away, back to the rest of the women and Zuko joined the rest of the men for their evening slop. He still did not understand why she was talking to him even after she saw him attack the guards. All the other prisoners still hated him because of the swastika band around his arm. They knew who he used to be and were not willing to give him a second chance.

He arrived at the gaggle of people, so hungry he was even willing to eat the junk that they were served every night. But just as he was about to grab a bowl to eat, two guards grabbed him from behind and dragged him away. Zuko was about to protest, but decided against it, thinking that one bad idea was good enough for one day.

He was led back to his cell, shoved in and told to wait. Confused, Zuko went straight to his back corner and went right to sleep. However, he was allowed only a few minutes of shut-eye when the door to cell opened once again. He blinked several times, trying to see where the bright light shinning in his eyes came from. When his vision focused, he grew angry when he saw who had entered his prison cell. Azula smiled as she looked down at her brother. It seemed word had reached her of Zuko's small attempt to save his friend. It was time to receive his punishment.

"I hear you attacked one of my guards today, Zuzu," she said in a sweet voice, though her intentions were anything but sweet. "That is a big no-no in this camp."

"Would you just get to the point already?" Zuko growled. "I'm sick of your pointless speeches before you sentence me."

Azula raised an eyebrow but continued on. "Very well, if you really want it that badly." She turned and nodded at one of the guards that had escorted her there. The man nodded in return, entered the cell, and picked Zuko up by his thinning arms. "You will get no food for today and tomorrow and tonight, you will help the Sonderkommando bury the dead." He glared daggers at his sister as he was dragged back out of his cell. "When you return from that, I will be waiting to administer the last of your punishment."

Zuko knew he was going receive another beating. With Azula it was almost completely predictable.

The guard dragged him all the way across the camp to the burying grounds which were conveniently placed right next to the gas house. As they drew nearer to the burying grounds, a foul stench rose up into the air and it was all Zuko could do to not gag and throw up on the spot. The guard dropped him off with a group of men that were finishing digging a big hole that the bodies of their dead would soon be dumped unceremoniously. A shovel was tossed to him, he groaned and started digging. He looked around at the other prisoners that were forced to bury their friends and noticed that they did not look at him in anger. Curious, he glanced down at his arm where the swastika armband was supposed to be placed and noticed that it was missing. It must have come off when the guard dragged him by the arm. Zuko shrugged, no armband meant an easier time working and he was not about to complain. His joys were dashed when the guard returned and tossed the armband down the hole where Zuko worked.

"Seems like you lost something, Brandt. You better put it on before someone notices." The man then walked off chuckling to himself.

Zuko bend down and picked his armband out of the mud, sighed deeply, and put it back on. The other prisoners watched the guard curiously and almost did not notice what had been tossed down to him until Zuko had returned to work. When they saw the swastika, they were everything but happy about it.

"You!" one cried, pointing an accusing finger at him. Zuko looked up at the man with the saddest expression on his face before turning away and continued digging. He was startled when he felt the man's hands on his shoulder. Zuko was spun around to come face to face with a very angry man. "You're that man! You're that man who sent me and my family to this hell!"

Zuko continued to stare sadly at the man but inside he was completely confused. Who was this man? He was sure he had never seen him before, ever. Why was he suddenly accusing him of something he was sure he did not do?

"Don't look at me like that!" the man yelled. He raised a fist to the ex-Nazi and struck him across the face. Zuko allowed the attack, no longer caring what they did to him. "You're the reason why I have to bury my son! The reason why my wife might as well be dead judging by the looks of her!"

Zuko did not need to look around to know that they were gathering a crowd. He sighed, looking downright heartbroken as he brushed off the man and continued digging. He glanced back only once, and that was to say something that he felt needed to be said to this poor man. Zuko only wished he could hear it from his own family. "I'm sorry," was all he said before he turned and ignored everyone in the pit.

Zuko did recognize the man. After he had mentioned a wife and son, he knew exactly who he was. It was Zuko's first group of Jews he had taken. Oddly enough, back then, he had no problem taking them because he was fed lies to make him believe that what he was doing was the right thing. He had taken that family right out of their apartment building in Munich. Now that he looked back at it, he realized how terrible of a person he was, how cruel he was to the family. The weight the tugged at his heart to begin with was only increased by this man's anger.

He worked in silence, keeping to himself and trying his best to ignore the dirty looks he received from the rest of the workers. They had not been working for very long when the guards returned and yelled at the group to get out of the hole. As soon as everyone had crawled out of the hole they had dug, three giant wheelbarrows full of dead bodies were brought around the corner of the building and dumped at the edge of the hole. They were told to throw the bodies in the dirt and bury them.

Zuko did as he was told. He helped another man hoist a dead body off the pile and toss it into the pit. They worked in silence, no one speaking to another. After the first wheelbarrow was in the pit, the second was dumped and the group began tossing those in as well. It was not until the third wheelbarrow was dumped did Zuko see a familiar face. He stared down at the man for several seconds before he recognized Eli in the heap of dead. He stood frozen in place as the others moved around and tossed the rest of the bodies in the pit. One man tried to take Eli's body but Zuko would not let him. Instead, he lashed at the man, took the body and a shovel and moved to a different location. He could hear the others calling to him, telling him that he would get in terrible trouble if he buried the body separate from the others. But he shut them out, ignored them and kept going to a place by the edge of a building. Here he set Eli's dead body against the side of the building and started digging.

It was slow going in his weak condition and no helpers. But he persisted, determined to give his one friend a somewhat decent burial. Finally, after a quarter of an hour of digging, the hole was deep enough for one body. Taking Eli, he set him as carefully as he could in the ground, positioned the body in a comfortable position before taking the shovel and covering his friend in dirt. Once the hole was filled in, Zuko stood up straight and looked down at his friend's grave.

"I won't forget you, my friend," he said. Taking the shovel, he etched the Star of David in the side of the building right above Eli's head. "You gave me hope when I thought there was none to be found." That said, he fixed his grip on his shovel and walked back to the rest of the Sonderkommando.

When he arrived, the pit with the rest of the bodies was still not completely filled in. Taking his shovel, he lent his hand and the hole was filled in within the next ten minutes. As soon as they were finished, the guards returned to take Zuko back to his cell. It was time to receive more punishment from his precious twin sister.

When he arrived, no one was there. As usual, he was tossed crudely into his cell and left alone. It was not until several minutes later that Azula came strutting through the metal door with her whip in her hand. She was quickly followed by two male guards who stood at the door ready to take action if Zuko even attempted to escape.

When the door to his cell opened up, Zuko looked up drowsily from his small corner where he slept, saw who it was, and lowered his head again. "Oh, it's you again," was all he said.

Azula smiled and walked over to her brother who was curled up on the floor. "Were you expecting anyone else?"

Zuko just sighed. "No…"

"Good, because I have a special treat for you, brother." Zuko looked up, startled as his sister turned back to the guards and nodded. "Bring her in," Azula whispered to the man.

For a split second Zuko thought "her" meant Katara. He feared that they really had been captured but his fear disappeared when the girl he had been talking to earlier that day was dragged into the room and thrown on the floor.

"Yue!" He stared wide-eyed at the girl who looked up with surprise at her surroundings. Zuko looked up at his sister in anger. "What is she doing here?" he demanded.

Azula only smiled and nodded once at the guard before forcing Zuko to his feet and tying him up with her whip so he could not move. She stood behind him and whispered in his ear. "Lieutenant Colonel Zhao told me that you killed a fellow soldier to keep him from raping a gypsy. Let's see if you can repeat that act."

"What! Azula, you're crazy!" He looked down at Yue who looked back at him with a face that was pleading for his help. He saw the guard Azula had spoken to smile sadistically and kneel down next to the gypsy girl on the floor. "You can't do this, Azula! Do you have any conscience whatsoever?"

"Hmmm," she said, pretending to think. "Nope! I don't think I do!" She laughed at her own joke and yanked at her brother's matted hair. "You might want to watch, this is the good part."

Zuko looked down to see the man on top of Yue attempting to pry her legs apart and get inside the girl. Yue began to scream and Zuko's heart began to beat faster than ever. He felt that he had to do something, but what could he do with Azula holding him motionless? Yue's screams echoed his name through the cell and it hurt him to hear them. As he watched the guard force Yue's legs apart, he was filled with an untamable rage. Without even realizing what he was doing, he brought his leg up and kicked back. He felt his foot make contact with his sister's kneecap and felt her fall to the floor, clutching her knee in pain. He did not even need to think when he kicked the soldier off the gypsy girl, turned around and beat his sister over the head and then kick the second guard in the gut, making him keel over and hold his stomach as he dry-heaved over the floor. It all happened so quick that he was free of Azula's whip and helping Yue up off the floor before he knew it.

"What have you done?" the gypsy asked. "They'll kill you for sure now!"

"My death is scheduled to be executed as treason. They will not kill me here," he reassured her. "Now go, go back to your sleeping quarters. You'll be safe there for now." She nodded and turned to leave but stopped herself, turned back and kissed Zuko on the cheek.

"Thank you," she said before running out of the cell.

It was silent in his lonely cell for only a few seconds before his sister got a grip of her surroundings after the blow to the head she had received from her brother. "Guards!" she screamed. "Guards!" Two more soldiers entered the room and stood at attention after giving Azula their salute. Zuko turned around to see her giving him the foulest glare he had ever seen. "Seize this man and chain him to the back wall!"

Zuko knew what was coming having experienced it once before. He tried to resist with the last of the strength that still possessed him, doing everything in his power to not be flogged again, but it was no use. The fight to keep Yue from getting raped had taken the last of his energy away from him. His struggles were futile against the much stronger and much healthier guards that held him.

He was dragged to the back of his cell once again, his wrists locked in shackles that hung from the ceiling of the metal prison. Even cuffed to the ceiling, he still struggled against his bonds. He knew it was useless, but he could stop himself.

"I'd stay still if I were you, brother," Azula said behind him, her voice strained with rage. "You will just cause more pain for yourself."

Immediately, Zuko stopped struggling and stood still, his hands above his head and spread out like a star. He strained his neck to turn and see his sister, holding her knee to help ease the pain from the kick she received from him as she bent down to pick her whip off the ground. She limped to the center of the cell right behind Zuko to where he could no longer see her and had to turn back to face the metal wall. He squeezed his hands into fists, bracing himself for the lashes that were sure to come.

"You will pay for that stunt you just pulled to save that gypsy wench!" She raised her whip just as the soldiers who had come in when she had called picked up the guards Zuko had attacked off the floor. "Fifty lashes, or until you pass out!" she declared and immediately began his punishment.

As soon as the first gash was cut into his back, he realized that the whip hurt more now than it did before. Instead of just gritting his teeth together and grunting, he opened his mouth in an ear-splitting scream. The wounds he had received from the last time he was flogged had only just started to heal and were now reopened along with new and deeper cuts. He had never been in so much pain before in his life and knew now that what he did for Katara and her friends was the right thing to do. No one should have to go through this kind of torment, no matter what they did in life.

Azula was acting out of rage, her lashes grew more and more powerful with each stroke she gave. To Zuko, it felt like the whip was splitting his back in two. He felt as if the bone in his spine was being hammered at by a chisel. With each stroke his sister gave, he let out a terrible cry of pain and with each cry of pain, his sight began to blur and darken. He could feel his consciousness begin to slip and begged it to leave him. He could not take the pain much longer and knew he would die if he did not pass out first. Unconsciousness came faster than he had hoped for. It was only a few seconds after he felt his mind slip that his vision went black and he no longer felt the immense pain in his back or hear the crack of Azula's whip against his flesh. Zuko had fallen unconscious from sheer pain.

---

Azula watched as her brother's head droop as his body went limp. He was unconscious and yet she still had the desire to hurt him in any way she could. She could not stop herself, as soon as she saw Zuko go limp, she only cracked her whip harder, creating deeper gashes on her brother's back. If she did not stop, she would surely kill him, she knew that.

She wanted him dead, she was sure of it. He was a traitor to his country, he committed treason against Germany during a time a war and the penalty for that was death. She wanted to be the one to kill him, he stole from her camp right out from underneath her nose. He ruined her reputation, stole from her, and embarrassed her in front of her own men. He deserved what she gave him, deserved to die after enduring long and agonizing torture.

But even after all that, he was still her brother.

Azula was happy when Zuko was gone, away from her and someplace she did not have to see him. He confused her, made her second guess herself. She no longer could trust her judgment when he was around. She wanted him gone, no matter the consequences. He just had to leave. If he had to be executed, so be it, if he was to be killed by her hand, so be it. She did not care.

But she loved Zuko, she had always loved him. After all, he was her twin brother, was he not? Their father may not love him, but she did. And yet, she still continued to lash at him with her whip. She loved her brother but he was a traitor, and traitors had to be punished. She was screaming now, letting out small cries of emotional pain as she railed on Zuko's unconscious body. She could not stop herself, she needed help from some else to stop and it did not take long before she felt strong arms grab her arm and hold her back.

"That's enough, Captain!" the guard cried from behind her. "He's already unconscious!" Azula continued to struggle against him for only a few moments before stopping her uncontrolled fit of rage against her brother. She looked back to see her best soldier and good friend Second Lieutenant Schultz. Lowering her head, she allowed him to help her back to her feet, making her just realize that she had fallen to her knees in her outburst. She clutched Schultz's shoulder to help steady herself before she spoke.

"Thank you, Schultz," she said, giving him a rare, slight smile. She looked back at her brother and then back at the other soldiers in the cell. "Let him down," she ordered. "Give him a blanket for tonight, I have a feeling it is going to be rather cold." She turned to leave but stopped and turned back as her men were releasing the unconscious Zuko from his shackles. "And when he wakes, give him a new shirt and some medical attention. I want him whole when we send him to Berlin for execution." That said, she left the cell, gesturing slightly to Schultz as she left.

He followed her as ordered and they walked in silence for quite some time before anyone spoke. "Captain," he began, unsure of whether he should ask his question or not. "What happened back there? It seemed as if you were not yourself."

Azula said nothing for several minutes as they walked, not looking at her Second Lieutenant before she was comfortable enough to answer. "I know you know this already, Schultz, but Gunnery Sergeant Zuko Brandt is by twin brother." Schultz nodded his agreement but stayed silent and let his Captain continue what she was saying. "It is very hard on one's heart when their own family member becomes a traitor to your own country, especially when you are the one who catches them in the act. I don't know exactly how to describe it, but I hate my brother for what he did, I want him to die, to suffer for his treacherous deeds, but at the same time I have trouble carrying out my own orders against him. That is why I act so cruel towards him, I just can't help it. Keeping him here is the only way I can show him that I care for him."

She looked up at Schultz to get an idea of his reaction to her explanation. Schultz was a quiet man by nature and usually the only way one got a reaction from him was by facial expressions. The face he wore after her explanation surprised her. He wore an expression of understanding, of compassion, of sympathy. It confused Azula but after a while, she began to understand.

"It's happened to you, too, hasn't it?"

He nodded. "My girlfriend. I caught her sneaking Jews into England. I loved her, and she betrayed me."

Azula merely stared at the ground as she walked. "I see. It looks like we have a lot in common, doesn't it?"

Schultz smiled and nodded just as he and his Captain arrived at her quarters and she disappeared behind her door.

---

Katara awoke to the sound of voices whispering near the mouth of the cave they had found to protect them from the rain that had begun to pour the night before. It was the second night in a row it had rained and the gypsy was beginning to get a little sick of it. She blinked her eyes a few times before lifting her had ever so slightly off her pillow so that she could see the shape of the two backs in the dark light of the early morning. Once as her eyes had adjusted to the dark, she recognized the two men sitting at the mouth of the cave. One she would have recognized blindfolded. It was her brother, Sokka, sitting on a boulder with the new rifle he had acquired a while back resting against his knee. And the other was the one man Katara did not trust at all, Jet.

The two men were conversing so quietly Katara could barely make out any words that were said. But recognize them she did and she was not to happy and quite surprised to hear the words coming out of her brother's mouth.

"After seeing the reaction it got from Katara, I feel a slight pang of guilt for what I did to Zuko," she heard Sokka whisper quietly to the Russian. "I just thought I was doing the right thing by selling him out as a traitor to his own people. I didn't trust him and I thought that my sister would understand. But after seeing her completely break down after watching his capture, I'm not so sure I can trust my own decisions anymore."

Jet smiled and rested a hand on the gypsy's shoulder. "Don't worry, my friend," he said reassuringly. "We will get him back, I promise you that." He glanced back to the back of the cave where the rest of the group lay sleeping and Katara had to quickly drop her head back on her pillow and close her eyes so Jet did not see her eavesdropping on their conversation. "These are the best group of Partisans and soldiers Russia has to offer. It is our mission to find and bring this Zuko back to the Moscow so that Stalin can speak with him. The end of the war depends greatly on your friend."

Sokka turned to stare wide-eyed at the Russian. "What do the Allied forces want with a traitor Nazi?" he asked, completely perplexed.

"Gunnery Sergeant Zuko Brandt has information that we can utilize to defeat Hitler and his Nazis and stop the spread of his incessant evil across Europe. Without him, the war is lost and Hitler wins."

Katara watched her brother hang his head in shame and sigh deeply. "I'm sorry I sold him to the enemy. I swear I would not have done it if I had known how important he was, I would not have done it. I thought I was doing the right thing!"

"Don't worry, Sokka. We'll get him back."

"You better!" Katara said as she sat bold upright and flung her blanket off her body. She was furious at her brother. How could he? How could he sell Zuko out when he knew how much she cared for him? It was not the right thing to do, it was murder!

Both men whipped around and jumped to their feet at the sound of her voice. Sokka's face seemed to drain of all color at the sight of his sister looking so livid. She was seething with rage. Standing up, she walked over to her brother and slapped him hard across the face. "How could you, Sokka!?" she cried. "How could you give someone over to the Nazis and think it was the right thing when you knew very well what they would be going through? I care greatly for Zuko, he is more than just a friend to me and you know it! So how could you? How could you just betray him like that?" She could feel the tears coming to her eyes once again. Her rage was getting the better of her. "How could you betray me like that?"

Sokka stared down at his younger sister as if she were a woman randomly approaching him and telling him he was the father of her child. He was at a loss for words and he looked over to Jet for help. The Russian was by no means surprised by Katara's sudden outburst. He must have known she was listening in on their conversation. He reached out to her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder but she turned on him next just as angry as ever.

"And you!" she yelled. "Why did you not tell us that your mission was find Zuko in the first place? Telling us could have been helpful in you search and I would be able to see him again much sooner!" Furious, she raised her fist to Jet as well. After firmly giving both of the men a red handprint on their cheek, she stormed off out of the cave and into the rain that fell through the canopy of the forest outside.

Jet seemed undisturbed by her slap across his face as he watched her run off into the forest in hysterics. He knew she was crying, he could tell by the way she ran with her hands constantly flying to her eyes. Taking off his jacket, he ran after her, ignoring the calls of Sokka telling him to let his sister be.

He found her, crouched under a large tree wiping the tears from her eyes. She did not seem to know he was there because he was able to walk right up to her without her making the slightest motion that indicated she knew he was there. Kneeling next to her in the mud, he draped his jacket over her shoulders. She raised her head quickly in surprise and his suspicion had been confirmed. When she saw who it was that had followed her, she glared at him and turned her head away from him. He only looked at her in compassion.

"What do you want?" she asked with a poisonous tongue.

Jet said nothing but merely sat down next to her, leaned his back against the wet tree and stared straight ahead of him. They sat in silence, neither one even looking at the other until several minutes later when Jet broke the silence. "You love him, don't you?" he asked.

Katara said nothing, purposely ignoring the Russian's question. Jet kept his eyes on her, on her beautiful blue eyes and deep brown hair that flowed down her back.

"I can tell you do just by the way you reacted to your brother's betrayal." Still, she remained silent for quite some time. It was not until several more minutes of silence did she decide to speak.

"I didn't have that long to get to know him before he was captured by that lady in Auschwitz. Only a few weeks at max, but he grew on me. He intrigued me, a Nazi, and yet he had killed his own companions to save me and my brother. He risked everything and more to help us and even help rescue our friend Suki from the camp. He was brave and selfless and I love him for that." One tear escaped her blue eye as she recalled her memories of the German. "And now, I don't know if I'll ever see him again."

Silently, Jet slipped his arm around her shoulder and let her rest her face in his chest. She was exhausted with worry. It had worn at her heart making the fatigue it created catch up with her. She had been running on will power alone. Her determination to see Zuko again was the only thing that kept her going.

"Don't worry, Katara," Jet told her, her head still resting on his chest. "My team and I will leave today for Auschwitz. We will find him and bring him back to you."

Katara's head snapped up to look at the Russian with newfound hope. "Today?" she asked. "How long will it take you get to get there?"

Jet smiled. "Well, seeing at the camp is just at the other end of this forest, we should be there by nightfall." It was true, from the information he had received from Sokka, Katara and her friends had not left the forest that the death camp was located near for almost a week. It was the perfect hiding place, far enough away from the enemy so that they would not be found but close enough to where they would not be suspected of being there at all.

Jet released the gypsy and stood up. He extended his arm to her, offering her his hand to help her up. "Come Katara," he said. "We need to start making preparations of the journey."

Taking his hand without hesitation, Katara allowed him to lift her to her feet and lead her back to the cave where the rest of the group waited for them.

**A/N: Okay, originally, I was going to make Jet and his friends British SAS but then I thought, "That's too original and boring. I think I'll make then Russian! :)" I like the Russian idea better. :)**

**I hope you enjoyed and I will see you next chapter!**


	12. 12 Oil Burns

**A/N: Well, here's the next one. Not much to say about this one until the end, otherwise I would give too much away. Sorry**

**HJ, what the hell was with that rant you gave me in your last review? It confused the fuck out of me! I am very well aware that a Nazi is a political party and am wondering where I said or hinted that it wasn't in this story. Please be so kind as to point it out for me. I'm a little lost. :/ **

Chapter 12-Oil Burns

Jet stole a glance at his silent sniper. Longshot sat high in a tree at the edge of the forest facing the dim lights of Auschwitz. The sniper was the only member of his team he had chosen to take with him on his rescue mission. Longshot's aim was accurate and deadly. Even if Jet was captured and used as a human shield, Longshot would be able to take out the enemy that stood behind him without causing any bodily harm to his leader.

Glancing back to the death camp ahead of him, Jet now realized that getting into the camp was going to be the hardest part of the plan they had carefully prepared earlier that day.

---

"We believe Zuko is being kept here," Sokka said as he pointed out a small room on the map of the camp they had found in Zuko's old pack.

Jet studied the map before asking a question. "What makes you think he is held there?"

"Because it the place we saw him being taken to," Katara answered. "According to the labels on this map, it's a holding cell for prisoners and doubles as a torture chamber." She shuddered as she said her last sentence, trying hard not to imagine the man she loved being tortured.

The Russian leader nodded before asking another question. "If he is not there, then where would the male prisoners be held so that I may search there?"

Sokka moved his hand across the map and pointed to a larger building at the other end of the camp. "Here," he said. "I remember seeing it the last time we were there. It should not take too long to get there from the holding cell."

"Being sneaky and sly is the key to this camp," Katara added. "There are guards stationed everywhere." She pointed to several spaced areas on the map. "They like to wander around the sides of the buildings and any one can come around any corner at any time so be careful."

"Jet," Smellerbee cut in. Her leader tore his gaze away from the map to acknowledge his second in command. "The cell might be locked with either a padlock or something smaller but just as sturdy. You will want something to bust it open or pick it with."

Jet merely nodded and thanked the woman who returned to the rest of the group who were in the back of the cave packing up camp. Katara looked back at Aang, Toph, Smellerbee, Pipsqueak, and The Duke curious as to where they would go after they parted ways. Her curiosity was quickly overrun by her desire to see Zuko as soon as she could. Turning back to the Russian leader, she made a demand she knew no one in the planning circle would like.

"Let me go with you," she demanded.

Jet stared at her indifferently while Sokka's jaw dropped to the stone floor of the cave.

"No! Absolutely not!" her brother argued. "It is best that you stay far away from that place as possible!"

"I don't care what's best for me," she countered. "I want to help in any possible way I can to save Zuko. If that means going back to that God-awful place, then so be it."

Sokka could not find words that would convince his sister otherwise and turned to Jet for help. The Russian sighed and took Katara's hands in his. "Katara," he began, speaking her name with all the sympathy and compassion he could. "As much as I understand your reasoning and desire to come along, I cannot allow you to come with us. I am sorry."

"But why not?" she asked, sounding disappointed and defiant at the same time. "Where would I go if I don't go along?"

"Where would you go once you have saved him?" Jet countered. "The Duke, Pipsqueak, and Smellerbee will take you and your friends to Denmark where you will charter a boat to take you across the sea to Sweden. Even though Denmark still remains a free country," he continued after seeing the gypsy girl's confused expression. "I cannot say for how much longer it will remain so. Even now, Germany threatens its King with invasion. It is the same with my homeland, Russia. Our leader, Stalin has too much on his plate already with Germans invading from the south. He cannot busy himself with escaped gypsies and Jews anymore than Denmark can. Your only hope right now is Sweden. The Nazis want Sweden free for reasons unknown but it is free nonetheless. So Sweden is where you must go."

"And you're only taking Longshot with you?" she asked, sounding unconvinced. "Doesn't seem very safe."

"On the contrary, Katara," he replied. "Two people are harder to catch or even see than three or more. Besides, Longshot will cover me from the cover of the forest." Jet, Katara and Sokka turned to stare at Longshot who merely nodded and patted his rifle he held in his lap. "He is the best sniper in all of Russia. I put my full faith in him."

Sighing in defeat, Katara nodded and went to the back of the cave to help pack up the rest of their belongings.

---

Back to the present, Jet was contemplating how he was going to get across the small, open field to the camp when security around the perimeter was so tight. A search light was put out every ten minutes to quickly sweep the area between the fence and the forest. The light was not turned on for very long to conserve its battery and the life of the generator put out to power the camp. If he was going to make it across without being spotted, he was going to have to time his run carefully.

He watched the light carefully, watching it as it neared the edge of the forest where he was located. Shrinking back behind a tree, he waited for the light to pass him before bursting out of his cover into the open. He followed the spot light, keeping just beyond its visual light so that he was not seen by those actively looking for him. Once he reached the fence, he quickly but carefully climbed over the fence and landed on his feet on the other side. Taking out a pair of wire cutters, he turned around and snipped open a whole in the fence to ensure a speedy getaway if caught.

Jet put the wire cutters back in his coat pocket before bolting off in the direction of the cell that had been pointed out to him by Sokka. Even though jumping across rooftops was his specialty, Jet had to resist jumping up on the roofs. They were not well made and his being up there would make a lot of noise.

He dodged behind the buildings and pressed his back against the metal walls when he heard voices. Checking his surroundings, he realized that just around the corner was the holding cell that Zuko was believed to be held in. Steeling a quick glance around the corner, Jet saw that it was guarded by two soldiers armed with Kar98 rifles. Drawing back, he ran around the back of the building he was hiding behind and ran behind the building the cell was located in. Looking up, he realized that the roof of the building was solid and surprisingly well made. Smiling, Jet realized that he had a chance to climb on top and give the soldiers the surprise of their life.

Backing up as far as he dared, the Russian rand straight at the building, running up the side a few feet before jumping and grabbing the edge of the roof. He pulled himself up and silently walked across the top until he was able to look down from where he was standing and see the top of the soldier's heads. Reaching for his belt, he pulled out two long knives and jumped.

---

"Hey! What the-?" A yell that came from outside his cell door broke Zuko's light and restless sleep. His head flew up from resting on his knees and looked in the direction of where the cry came from. He could hear muffled screams and small thumps as if someone were fighting on the other side of the metal door. Standing up from his small back corner where he slept, Zuko walked to the other side of his cell and peered out the small, rectangular eye hole.

What he saw surprised him. A strange man dressed in only civilian clothes had one of the guards held in front of him, a knife plunged into the man's back. Zuko gasped and took a step back from the door when the civilian man pulled the knife out of the soldier's back and tossed the body to ground before turning to face the cell door.

Startled and wondering who that man was, the former soldier turned and slammed his back against the wall next to the door. He could hear the latch to the door opening and as the door slid open, he stole a glance at the man who now entered. He wore an unbuttoned long black coat that came down to his knees, brown leather boots and black leather gloves. He had dark brown hair that looked a mess and improperly kept.

Zuko was surprisingly stunned to find that it surprised him when the man turned to look at him. He was then able to get a good look at the stranger's face. His eyes were beetle black and his eyebrows grew in a way that made him look somewhat angry all the time. Zuko could tell that this man was not German as soon as he spoke judging by his clothes and the thick accent in his fluent German.

"Zuko Brandt?" the man asked. Too stunned for words, Zuko could only nod. "Good, saves me the trouble of going all the way to the prisoner's hold on the other side of the camp." He jerked his head in the direction of the open door. "Follow me, and keep quiet."

Curious, Zuko did as he was told, carefully stepping outside so he did not tear up his already injured bare feet. Glancing around at his surroundings, he felt weird seeing the outside of his cell when he was not being dragged off to work. He looked down by his feet to see the blood of the soldier's the stranger killed to get inside. But he just saw the blood; where were the bodies? Zuko looked up and turned back to the cell he had just left to see the stranger dragging the bodies inside.

"What are you doing?" he asked, staring at the body of a soldier that was stabbed in the neck.

"Locking the bodies in your cell," came the man's reply. "As we make our escape, the guards who find your cell unguarded will spend time checking inside verses if we leave them out here, the truth about what happened is in plain sight and they will hunt for us immediately."

"So you are here to rescue me?" Zuko asked, going off the stranger's first statement.

The man looked up from dragging the last body into the cell. "Of course, you buffoon!" he said, sounding surprised that Zuko had not already figured that out. "Why else would I kill these soldiers and take you from your prison?"

Zuko had no answer for the man and stood silently as the man locked and shut the door to his old cell. He felt empowered now that he knew he no longer had to go back in there. The stranger then walked passed him, keeping to the shadows and motioning for Zuko to follow him.

They passed through the camp without any incident. Once a guard came around the corner and almost spotted them, but otherwise they went unseen. It was not until they were one building away from the fence when Zuko remembered the Broom Handle pistol Azula had stolen from him the night he was captured. He stopped, debating whether he should go back and get it or not. He glanced back at the buildings he had just escaped from and then back to the stranger and the fence that held freedom, and possibly a new life with Katara, for him on the other side.

He saw his rescuer stop and turn back, wondering why Zuko had stopped. "What are you doing?" he asked, impatient. "Come on! Let's get out of here!"

Zuko turned back to the death camp he was escaping from. He had to get that pistol back. It was too precious to him to allow Azula to keep. If he left it there, he knew he would never get it back.

"Hold on," he told the stranger. "I have to get something." He began to walk back into the camp when he heard the stranger call him back.

"No! You'll get us both caught. Whatever it is you need to get, forget it. It's not worth your life."

Zuko ignored the man and kept going. "I'll meet you back at the fence," he said. "Just give me ten minutes."

He could hear the man groan but give in. "Fine," he growled. "I've cut a hole in the fence just on the other side of this building. You have ten minutes, if you're not there within that time, I'm coming in to get you whether you have what you want or not."

Zuko looked back at the man and nodded before running off in the direction of his sister's sleeping quarters. He knew where it was, having seen her walking out of it once before in the morning. It was stationed at the far end of the camp by where he had worked all those days. Dodging behind buildings to avoid being seen by the guards patrolling the camp, he quickly made his way across the camp to the building where he was sure Azula lay sound asleep.

Running up to the front door, he was about to pick the lock and sneak in when he reconsidered. He thought that sneaking in the front door was not the best approach for him. He had to be stealthy, not obvious. Going around the back, he found a window that was left carelessly open. Peeking in, he saw his sister asleep on the other side of the room with her sheets and blankets pulled all the way up over her shoulders. Her back was turned to him and the nightstand next to her bed. Zuko's eyes followed Azula's trail of hair to the nightstand where he saw his pistol laying carelessly out in the open on the nightstand. He smiled. How naïve his sister was to think that no one dared enter her sleeping chambers just to take a single pistol. She thought her brother was held under the tightest security and he was not going anywhere. Oh, how wrong she was.

Zuko hoisted himself up and crawled through the small window without a sound. As he was climbing through, his foot caught on the window pane and tripped. Nearly falling to the floor, he grabbed a hold of a drawer handle of his sister's wardrobe and shuffled his feet to regain his balance. Suddenly aware of how much noise he made, he glanced over at his sister who just rolled over, still asleep. He sighed, relieved that he had not woken Azula in his sad attempt to sneak into her room without a sound.

Making sure he remained silent for the rest of his time in the room, he walked over to the nightstand and picked up his pistol. He stuffed it in a leather strip around his waist that served as a makeshift belt and turned to leave. He crawled up on the window ledge and was about crawl back out when he heard a knock at the door to his sister's room and froze.

"Captain!" came a soldier's voice. "Captain, wake up! There has been a break in. Your brother is missing from his cell and the guards assigned to watch him were found dead inside!"

Zuko turned to look at his sister, hoping she was still asleep. His heart sank when he saw her upright in bed staring at him with a surprised expression on her face. It was obvious she was absolutely positive there was no way for her brother to escape.

"Zuko!" she yelled, her face changing from surprise to rage in an instant. She jumped out of bed and ran across the room to grab at her brother's ankles and pull him back but she was too late. As soon as he saw her surprised face, he bolted. He was out the window in no time flat and running back to the fence with all haste. He could hear Azula open her door and yell at the soldiers to chase after him but he did not look back. All he was concentrating on was getting out of there as soon as possible.

He ran behind a building when he saw a group of soldiers come around a corner from another area. They had him surrounded, one choice he had was to charge headlong into them but he knew that would just get him shot. Deciding on another course of action, he slipped out the other side of the building and ran to the fence as fast as he could. He did not get far until another group of soldiers rounded the corner right in front of him bringing his run to a halt.

"We've got him!" yelled one of the soldiers. "Quick, warn the Cap-" His sentence was cut short when a loud bang issued from the direction of the fence Zuko was running to and he fell forward, flat on his face, a bullet wound in the back of his head. Just then, the stranger who had taken him from his cell ran in to the group, knives drawn and ready to fight them as a distraction.

"Run, Zuko!" he barked at the ex-prisoner. "We'll distract them, just run! Get to the hole in the fence!" Zuko only nodded and ran, ignoring the confusion he had when the stranger said "we" would distract them. Several more loud gunshots could be heard from the forest, but Zuko ignored it and kept running. He noticed other soldiers running off towards the area where the stranger was fighting off all the Nazis to allow Zuko a chance to escape, but he ignored it and made a B-line for the fence, cutting down on the distance he had to push his malnourished body to run.

He rounded the corner of the building that the hole in the fence was behind when something caught his leg, making him fall face down to the ground in surprise. Turning onto his back, he looked up to see Azula, coat and boots on with whip in hand. She was angrier than he remembered, furious at the escape attempt of her only brother.

"Thought you could outwit me a second time, brother?" she asked, irony in her voice. "Well, maybe you should think again!" She drew her arm back and lashed out with her whip.

Zuko had experienced her using her whip too many times before and easily rolled out of harm's way. Standing up, he reached behind him and took the Broom Handle out of his leather belt and pointed it at his sister.

"I'm sorry, Azula," he said. "But you give me no choice." He squeezed the trigger but the pistol only clicked, indicating that there was no round locked in the chamber. He stared at it briefly before glaring at his sister.

"Sorry, Zuzu," she said mockingly, a smile on her face. "But it's not loaded. You might want to try a different trick on me." She stood, pretending to wait for him to pull something else out of his belt. "Oh? Nothing? That's right, because you don't have anything but your bare hands, don't you?" She drew her arm back again, intent on slicing up every inch of her brother's skin before finally killing him. He watched carefully, judging where the end of the whip would go and where it would be appropriate to block with his arm. He saw it whipped forward and immediately brought up his right arm to block. He felt the whip wrap itself around his arm harmlessly and hold.

Zuko smiled. It did exactly what he had wanted it to. Grabbing the whip with both hands, he pulled as hard as he could, yanking the whip right out of his sister's hand. Pulling the whole thing towards him and unraveling it from his arm, he tossed the whip behind him and smiled.

"Looks like you've got no more weapons, sis. What are you going to do now?"

Azula's face went right back into rage once again. Without even saying anything in return, she lunged at her brother, tackling him to the ground. Zuko could feel his wounds on his back from Azula's whip begin to burn with irritation from the dirt, but he pushed the pain from his mind, knowing that lingering on it know could only cause him death. Azula raised her fist and punched her brother hard across the face making his nose bleed. She tried for a second time but Zuko was ready for her this time and parried the attack with his forearm. She kept trying, swinging her fists at her brother on the ground several times before he was able to grab an opening and trap her arm. Locking her foot in place with his own, he lifted his body and rolled on top of Azula. Now he had all the power and was able to attack her back.

His feeling of power and ability to attack did not last long unfortunately, when Azula, being much healthier and stronger now, was able to throw her brother off over her head with practiced ease. He fell on the ground with a thud just above his sister's head and opened his eyes just in time to see her stand back up and begin kicking him in the ribs. He managed to block a few of her kicks but unfortunately got hit by the brunt of them all.

Zuko could tell her attacks were not just out of anger of his escape, but there was pure rage and hatred in her strikes. She hated him and that hatred turned into violent anger.

Finally, Zuko was given the opportunity to stop Azula's constant, uncontrolled kicking. Just as she was about pull her leg away, he trapped her ankle with his arms and held it close to his body. Groaning, he looked up at his sister and smiled. She was not going to hurt him anymore.

Azula had other plans unfortunately. As soon as she saw the smirk on her brother's face, she turned to the building they stood next to and pulled an oil lamp off the outer wall. Zuko's eyes widened in shock as his sister smiled and raised the lamp above her head, preparing to throw it.

"Say goodbye to those good looks, brother!" she cackled and smashed the oil lamp down on his face. Zuko howled in pain, his hands flying to his face. He could feel the oil in the lamp catch fire and burn the flesh from around his left eye. He tried his best not to let the fire get to his eye, but as it burned away his eyelid, he frantically tried to put out the fire and save his sight. His screams only grew louder as he felt the glass from the lamp dig into his already burned and melted flesh. He rolled around in the dirt, desperately trying to end the searing pain as he felt it spread across his face and reach his ear. He grabbed handfuls of dirt and tossed it in his face to rid himself of the flames. Finally, after several minutes of pure agony, the fire was gone.

He looked up; trying to open his left eye, but the lid had melted together, limiting how far he could open it, and his sight. He could only see out of one eye and saw his sister, his pistol in one hand and a few rounds in the other, looking down at him with the most sadistic smile on her face. Zuko huffed, unsure why he was out of breath and attempted a glare, but the burn on his face sent a surge of pain through his body, causing his mind to lose focus and leaving him the brink of unconsciousness. He was slipping as he watched helplessly as Azula raised the pistol, pointing it directly at her brother's face.

"Time to say goodbye Zuzu," she said, a slight laugh in her voice. She stomped down on his already weak ankle, breaking it and the pain it caused was enough to let the blackness envelope him. The last thing Zuko remembered before he blacked out was a loud gunshot and his sister falling backwards, a red hole in her forehead.

---

Jet ran through the camp, having just escaped the mob of soldiers, and made his way to the area where he had cut the hole in the fence. He could hear Longshot covering him from the forest. If any Nazi tried to stop them, they would meet a quick and painless end.

He kept his knives out, ready to fight in case any more soldiers caught him by surprise. He rounded a corner of one of the buildings and the building in which the hole in the fence was behind was in sight. Jet smiled. Finally, he would be done with this mission and be able to go back to his home; Russia. When he reached the other side of the small building, what he saw almost made his heart die.

Zuko lay on the ground, the left side of his face burned almost beyond recognition and a long, black whip a few feet from his body. Near him lay a woman, dead with a bullet in her forehead and a Broom Handle pistol held tightly in her still warm hand. He compared the faces of both the woman and Zuko and saw that they held resemblances to each other. Strange, by the looks of things, it seemed like they had a fight, resulting in her death and possibly his as well.

Jet bent over the man's limp form and checked for a pulse. He was surprisingly happy to find that the man still had one. He was still alive, but for how long he could not say. All he knew was that he had to get Zuko out of there. Grabbing the whip and the pistol and shoving them in his coat pocket, he carefully picked the German up over his shoulders and crawled through the hole in the fence and bolted across the grassy meadow back to the forest.

He knew that the Nazi's would be too distracted to follow right after him. Judging by the coat the woman had on, she was of high rank, probably the Commanding Officer of the place. When the soldiers found her dead, they would be too preoccupied with her body to chase after Jet and Zuko. Still, as soon as he made it back to the cover of the forest, he knew he would have to run and get as far away from Auschwitz as he could.

Jet looked up into the trees and called out for his comrade. "Longshot! Let's go!" The sniper said nothing but merely jumped down from his perch in the trees and ran off in the wake of his leader.

They ran through the forest, zig-zagging in random directions and not stopping for nearly two hours until they came across a small clearing that was almost completely enclosed by trees and shrubs. No one would have been able to find it unless they were actively looking for just that or accidentally happened upon it. It was the perfect hiding place for the night.

Jet set the unconscious Zuko down on the dirt floor as both he and Longshot stopped to catch their breath. Finally, when he had enough breath to speak, Jet turned to his comrade.

"Longshot, I need you to bandage him up." He motioned to Zuko's unconscious body as she spoke and then stood up. I'll make camp and get supper started. It will have to be cold, we will have to fire tonight. We can't risk being seen here."

Longshot nodded and pulled out a medical kit from his pack as Jet went about setting up their camp for the night.

**A/N: Wooo! Who's happy to see Zuko finally out of that hell hole? I am! I am! Thank God Jet ran into Katara and the rest of the group, otherwise he would have never found where Zuko was and would not have been able to complete his mission. Ah, the Russians, they're so fascinating... :)**

**Please review! I look forward to them!**


	13. 13 A Road to Follow, The Past Forgotten

**A/N: Good Lord, this is the longest chapter I have written so far (even if it doesn't have the most words). This story is also the longest story I've ever written! Luckily it's summer time and I don't have to worry about school as well! :) **

**HJ, that weird person named ... may have made you angry, but I just laughed at them. They were so stupid they were funny :) They tried to correct my spelling of Fuehrer and STILL spelled it wrong! lol **

**Ages: The Duke: 19, Smellerbee: 24, Pipsqueak: 25, Longshot: 21, Yue: 23**

Chapter 13—A Road to Follow, The Past Forgotten

The wedding was extravagant with the church bells ringing, brilliant decorations, wonderful food, and plenty of guests. Sokka sure did a great job planning his sister's wedding with a little help from Toph and Aang. Zuko saw the gypsy, with Aang and Lu Ten right behind him, standing next to him on the altar waiting for Katara to enter the church.

Zuko smoothed his uniform, making sure it had no creases. He wanted to look positively perfect for his bride. His armband gone and Hitler never making it to power, Zuko's perfect military wedding was taking place. He was marrying the girl of his dreams with his uncle, his cousin, and his mother still around to see him become the happiest man on earth.

The doors to the Berlin church opened up and the organ began to play. Zuko looked down the aisle to see his bride, Katara, hanging on the arm of her father Hakoda and Toph right behind them. He smiled lovingly at her and he could see her blush from underneath the veil that ever-so-slightly covered her face. Zuko could not wait to lift the veil and kiss his love passionately.

Katara, Hakoda, and Toph arrived at the altar, the younger girl taking her place next to the gypsy as Hakoda handed his daughter off to the German. She took his hand and turned to face him. They smiled at each other the entire ceremony, only speaking when they had to say their vows and their "I do's". Finally, after half an hour of listening to the priest talk, Zuko was to kiss the bride. He slowly lifted her veil and gazed upon her beautiful face for the first time that day.

Zuko did not linger on her beauty for long. Gently grazing her face with his fingers, he bent down and pressed his lips to hers. A cheer erupted from the congregation and as they broke apart, Zuko smiled down at Katara who returned his smile happily.

"I love you, Katara," he said, taking her hand and leading her back down the aisle. She followed him out the front door and into the small, black car.

"I love you too, Zuko," she returned and as they crawled into the back seat of the car, Zuko knew that the rest of his life would be the happiest years he had ever lived.

And then he woke up.

Zuko blinked several times before he realized what he had just experienced was only a dream and nothing more. He sighed, knowing that the happy day he had always dreamed of with Katara might never happen. He was a prisoner, held captive by his own sister until the day he was sent to Berlin to be executed by a firing squad.

Zuko stopped thinking for a split second, suddenly realizing that he was not curled in a ball in the corner of a cold, metal cell, but laying face up on a soft bed in a cozy-looking room. Curious, he reached up and touched his left eye, or rather a large cotton bandage that was wrapped around his head. All of a sudden, the events that transpired at Auschwitz all came flooding back to him. The strange man who took him from his cell, getting his pistol back from his sister, being seen by the guards, running for his life, gunshots coming from an unseen location, fighting his sister, and the oil lamp. It was all there and he was no longer prisoner to his own country, but a fugitive on the run with a man he did not know. He did not even know the stranger's name.

He tried to sit up, but the cuts on his back from his sister's whip were inflamed so badly it was too painful to try to move on his own. Instead, Zuko glanced around at the room he was in. It was empty aside from a few chairs and two beds, one of which was occupied already by himself. Many questions flooded through his mind. How did he get there? Where was the man who rescued him? Who bandaged him up? How long was he unconscious for? But most importantly, what town and what country was he now in?

Just as he was about to muscle through the pain and take a look outside, the door to the room opened and two men walked in. Zuko recognized the messy-haired man who rescued him. He was not wearing the long coat he had on before but a red shirt that was not fully buttoned and dark pants and in his mouth was a tobacco pipe, a small amount of smoke billowing from the top. The other man he did not recognize. He was quiet, only listening to what his companion had to say and nodding here and there. He had black hair, a large nose, and wore brown pants, black boots, and a blue-gray colored shirt. His gloves were gray and did not cover his fingers. They looked like they were useful only for shooting rifles.

The man in the red shirt slumped down in one of the chairs in the room and sighed. "We have to leave tomorrow, Longshot," he said, his eyes closed as he relaxed on the chair and rested his feet on the window sill. "Those wanted posters sure puts a wrench in the works, doesn't it?"

Zuko turned his head slightly to look at the man. He looked exhausted, almost sad as he sat and stared out the window into the town.

"We have wanted posters?" Zuko asked, breaking the short silence that issued throughout the room. The man in the chair and the one called Longshot both turned their heads to look at the man lying broken on the bed. When the stranger in the chair saw that Zuko was awake, he merely turned back to stare out the window again and grumbled.

"He's finally awake," he said as if he did not care. "Longshot, get him some supper and I'll brief him on what's happening."

Zuko watched as the man with dark hair left the room to grab some food for him to eat, or so he presumed. While Longshot was gone, Zuko turned to the man in the chair and asked the one question that had been bugging him since the moment he first saw the man through the hole in his cell door. "Who are you?"

The man turned away from the window again to look back at him. He almost looked angry, but given Zuko's limited eyesight, it was hard for him to tell. "The name's Jet," he said, his voice almost like a growl. "Longshot and I are Russian Partisans and our mission was to find you and bring you back to Moscow for Stalin to question. We're on our way there now."

Zuko said nothing. He knew why they wanted him, or rather, the information he had on the Nazis that Hitler did not want getting out. He had known the Germans had spies all over Europe and false money in the banks in each of those countries for months. Hitler's plan was to corrupt the economy, making it crash and making it easier for them to invade. Hitler did not know he knew all this, nor did his father whom he had secretly heard it from and his now deceased sister. He was sure that if the Fuehrer had known that he knew, Zuko would have been dead long ago.

"So how long have I been unconscious?" he asked, changing the subject. "And where are we?"

"You've been unconscious for four days and we're in Poznan, Poland," Jet answered. "We're crossing through Poland to Belarus and from Belarus we will head straight for Russia. Moscow is just a few weeks from the Belarus boarder." The man still sounded as if he were irritated by something and the strange thing was, Jet only sounded like that when he was talking to or about Zuko. Thinking that the anger was directed at him, Zuko asked the man about it.

"Did I do something wrong?" he asked.

Jet glared at him and snapped. "Oh, I can think of a few things!" he cried. "For one, insisting on going back for a pistol of all things and nearly getting us both killed, two, you're a Nazi, and three, the fact that after the two years since my wife died I finally found a woman I'm actually interested in and she happens to be in love with you!" He was standing now, his hands balled into fists from his rage. "So let us get one thing straight between the two of us, Zuko Brandt. I don't like you and that is unlikely to change in the future."

Zuko was stunned, this man, this Russian, had met with Katara. He sat straight up in bed, the injuries on his back completely forgotten, and stared wide-eyes at Jet. "You found her! You found Katara! Is she alright? Where is she now?"

Jet only shrugged and turned back to face the window once more. "She and her friends should be on their way to Denmark right now. In fact, they should be there already, and from there they will sail to Sweden where they will wait out the war."

"And you're taking me to Russia," he reiterated. Jet did not turn around, only nodded and said nothing. Zuko shook his head. "No," he said in a voice that said he meant business. Jet turned his head and looked at Zuko through the corner of his eye. "I refuse to speak to your leader until I have Katara safe in my arms. You will take me to Sweden first, otherwise I am not going with you to Russia."

"On the contrary, Mr. Brandt," Jet countered. "My orders were to escort you straight to Moscow as soon as I had found you. I cannot disobey a direct order from my president."

"Your president has no idea what happened down here!" Zuko said, his voice rising quickly. "He does not have to know the truth! Tell him it took a while to find me! I will go to Sweden first, and then you can take me Russia!"

Jet turned around and plopped back down in the chair just as Longshot returned with dinner for Zuko. "Very well," he said, defeated. He could not argue with the man's logic and it was obvious he was not going to comply until he got what he wanted. "We will go to Sweden first. But we will only stay for one day. After that, we leave for Russia."

Zuko nodded, agreeing to Jet's demands. It seemed they had an agreement. He took the food from Longshot, thanked the quiet man and ate hungrily. After a four day coma, his stomach was growling noisily from hunger. Jet did not talk to him for the rest of the day other than to tell him to be ready to leave first thing in the morning. After he finished the dinner he was given, Zuko slowly got out of bed and attempted to walk. Luckily his ankle only had a hairline fracture and if he stepped on it right, it did not hurt too much.

While Jet was packing his pack, he had Longshot come in and check Zuko's injuries. The now ex-prisoner's burn was bad. After four days it was still black and charred, it had not even begun to blister yet. The cartilage on his left ear was almost completely burned away and he was mostly blind in his left eye. His back was not looking very good either but it was better than his burn. The deep cuts were inflamed and possibly infected from ill keeping and they would take some time to heal. However, they would just be scars by the time he was able to take the bandages off his face.

"Could you wrap my right ankle," Zuko asked the quiet sniper as he replaced the bandages on his back. "I think it might be fractured a little bit." Longshot merely nodded before taking a long strip of linen and wrapping it tightly around his ankle. "Thank you," he said when the sniper finished up. Longshot nodded once and left the room, leaving Jet and Zuko alone. The German glanced over at the Russian sitting, arms and legs crossed, on the chair by the window; a single candle melted onto the table next to him was the only source of light in the room. Jet looked almost frightening in the dim light of the candle, only the features that accented his anger were illuminated by the tiny flame, the smoke from the Russian's pipe rising in the air with each slow breath he took. The frown he wore and the way he stared out at the dark streets of Poznan made him look like he was brooding over something.

Zuko suspected he knew what the man was thinking about and opened his mouth to say something but found he had nothing to say and shut his mouth, laying down in his bed and drawing the covers over his shoulder, falling asleep almost instantly.

The next morning, Zuko was woken begrudgingly to Jet gently shaking his shoulder and telling him they had to go. The German slowly crawled out from under the covers and stood up. His ankle surprisingly did not hurt when he stood on it. The wrap worked wonders and he was ready to walk for miles, but he knew if he did he would only fracture his bone even more.

Jet grabbed his pack and swung it over his shoulder, motioning for Zuko to follow him out of the room. The German grabbed a small travel bag he had packed the night before and swung it over one shoulder, careful not to cross it over his wounded back. They left, meeting Longshot in the lobby of the inn and leaving the town for good. They traveled back west, towards Berlin. Zuko was excited for their journey. He was finally going to be able to see Katara again, maybe even take her to Russia with him and start a new life there.

As they left Poznan behind, Zuko limped behind the two Russians thinking only of how good his future was looking for him. He smiled as he looked at the land around them. Yes, things were looking up.

---

Finally, the first major city they came across that did not have Nazis out to capture them and take them to Death camps. Odense, Denmark was surely a sight to see. Katara smiled as she looked up at the tall buildings, wondering how people were ever able to build anything like it. As a gypsy, she had traveled all over the continent, but never in her twenty years of living had she ever seen anything quite like Odense. She knew that when they reached Copenhagen, she would be even more impressed by the palace that stood in the center of the city. She had listened to her mother talk about it as a child and she could not wait to see it in real life.

Katara looked around at the others who sat on the train with her. They all seemed happy and excited. All except the Russians who sat looking quite serious by themselves on the other side of the car. Aang stared fascinated out the window at the city that was fast approaching while Toph sat with her arms crossed in her seat, listening to everything the young boy said. Sokka on the other hand, was too engrossed in how comfortable his seat was than what could be seen out the window while Suki laid her head on his shoulder, sound asleep. It was nice to be able to travel on the train without having to stay in the baggage car.

As the train entered the station, the group gathered their bags together and walked to the exit, waiting for the train to come to a stop before stepping off and entering the big city. They left the station and walked the streets in search of an inn to stay in for the night before they chartered a boat to take them across the sea to the next island were Copenhagen was waiting for them.

Katara looked around at all the buildings in awe. "They're so much bigger up close," she said, studying each ancient building closely. "They're beautiful."

"That's nice," came Sokka's sarcastic reply. "I just want to find a place to eat. I haven't eaten in two hours and my stomach is protesting almost violently."

Katara glared at her brother. "Is food all you ever think about, Sokka?" she asked, irritated.

"No," he said. "Sometimes I also think about Suki!" He took his girlfriend's hand and pulled her close to him for a kiss. She smiled and complied, every bit of her loving the man who risked his life to save her from the death camp.

Katara rolled her eyes. There was no hope for that man, none at all.

"I think it's a wonderful place," Aang said from behind the gypsy girl. Katara turned around to see the boy looking around just like she was.

"Thank you, Aang," she said, giving a small hug. She noticed the young teenager blushed ever so slightly but she shook it off as just his shy nature. "At least someone agrees with me."

"Hey," Toph said, shrugging her shoulders. "I would agree with too, Sugar Queen, but the only thing I can tell about this place is the fact that it's huge."

Katara glared at the blind girl. "When did you decide to start using your little pet name for me?" she asked with venom in her voice.

Toph smiled and shrugged. "Oh, about two minutes ago."

Katara rolled her eyes and turned to the woman who was leading them to Sweden. "How are we going to find an inn here in such a large city? There must be so many of them and very expensive."

Smellerbee jerked her head in the direction of her Russian companions. "The Duke grew up here in Odense before he and his family moved back to the Motherland. He knows the city like the back of his hand." She then grew silent as if expecting The Duke to come running up to her with an answer at any time.

The gypsy girl turned to the other two Russians with the intention of asking the youngest of them where they were going to stay, but it looked like Aang had gotten there before her.

"Hey, Duke," the teenager started. "Where is a good place we cans stay the night?"

The Duke seemed agitated when he heard his name. "I told you a thousand times, Aang!" he cried. "My name is _The _Duke!" He then crossed his arms, turned away from Aang and pouted. Aang looked absolutely confused and turned to Katara and raised his hands in a gesture that said "What the heck did I do?"

Katara sighed and walked over to the Russians with a smile on her face. She thought it was a good idea to start off with a friendly air to her. "Excuse me, The Duke," she began. He turned to acknowledge her, nodding his permission for the go-ahead. "I was wondering, where is there a good place for us to stay the night here that is not too costly for us?"

The Duke paused, debating whether he should answer her question or not. But she had called him by his whole name, so why not? Turning to face the gypsy, he smiled and nodded, pointing down a street lined with sidewalks filled with people and tall, stone buildings. "There's a nice inn two blocks down that road. I know the people who own it and we'll be able to stay there for half price."

"Excellent," Smellerbee said as she walked back over to the group. "We will stay there and give The Duke's family friends our utmost gratitude when we arrive."

The group nodded, grabbing their bags and heading off down the street to the inn. When they arrived, Katara was astounded at how fancy the inn was. The lobby had white tile floors, a painted and polished wood front desk, fluffy couches and chairs and the stairs that led to the upper levels were made of polished stone. Katara busied herself with inspecting the intricate designs of the lobby while Smellerbee, Pipsqueak and The Duke checked them into their rooms. The gypsy girl would be sharing a room with Suki, Sokka with Aang, Toph with Smellerbee, and The Duke with Pipsqueak.

Katara and Suki were ecstatic when they saw their room. It was furnished with the fanciest furniture either of them had ever seen. Excited, Katara helped her friend into the room and set her on one of the fluffy beds to rest. She dropped her pack on the floor of the room and walked over to the window that over looked the street. Katara slid open the window and stuck her head out in the cool city air. She smiled as she looked down, observing the people walking along the sidewalk. They all seemed happy, going about their normal lives as if the war going on in the south had no affect on them. Katara envied their carefree lives and prayed that the war never reached their peaceful city. She thought about her family, how it was torn apart by the war and remembered the day she had watch her mother and her grandmother being dragged away from them as she watched helplessly from her hiding place under the bed; her father bludgeoned to death before dying right in front of her in her brother's arms.

_It was dark, midnight and Katara lay asleep in her bed when she awoke to the sound of shouts coming from outside and the door to her bedroom opened. Slowly opening her eyes, she raised her head to see her mother walk in looking frantic._

_"Mother?" she asked, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. "What's going on?"_

_"I'll explain later, sweetie," Kaya answered and she shut the door and locked it behind her. "Get out of bed, quick! And hide under the bed. Do not come out no matter what happens, do you understand me?" _

_Katara nodded once as she crawled under her bed, her heart racing so fast the blood pounding in her ears gave her a slight headache. As soon as she was safely hidden under the bed, there was a loud bang on the locked door and her mother turned around, standing completely still. It did not take long for the door to be busted open and two booted feet came storming in. _

_"What do you want?" Kaya demanded of the soldier that had forced his way into the bedroom. _

_The feet that stormed through the busted door did not stop but continued walking towards Katara's mother. "We are here to relocate you and your family to a facility specifically for your kind."_

_"My kind!?" Katara heard her mother say, sounding appalled. "And what family? I only have my husband and my mother here with me. They are the only family I have!" _

_"Then why were there more than three dirty plates on the table downstairs? Who used the other two?" The man demanded, hoping to get the truth out of Kaya._

_"We had friends over for dinner and I haven't gotten around to washing the dishes yet!" Katara's mother was backed up all the way to the bed with the soldier right in front of her. _

_There was silence, it seemed for a while nothing was happening but then Katara heard a smack before her mother began yelling again. "Don't you touch me, you cretin!" she screamed. Another smack could be heard and Katara watched her mother's legs buckle over the bed and heard the creak of the springs indicating Kaya had fallen down on it. _

_"I'll teach you to assault a soldier of Germany!" the man yelled just as his feet disappeared on top of the bed. Katara clapped her hands to her mouth to keep herself from crying out when the screams of her mother echoed through the room. She could hear the thrashing of her mother and the evil laughter of the soldier as Kaya continued to scream anything that came to her mind that would get the man off her. Katara let out a small gasp when she saw her mother's undergarments thrown to the floor in front of her. _

_The screams continued as the lowlife soldier raped her mother. Hot tears welled up in her eyes when all she could do was listen. Katara felt completely useless and defenseless under the bed. It hurt her to know what was happening to her mother and yet she could do nothing about it. However, Katara knew that if she tried anything, she would get the same fate at Kaya. _

_Footsteps could be heard from the hallway and a few seconds later, her father came running into the room. When he saw what was being done to his wife, Hakoda ran up to the bed and threw the man off Kaya. Katara jumped as the soldier hit the floor and rolled over onto his back. For a second, she thought she had been spotted because the soldier had landed facing the underside of the bed but the next events told her otherwise. _

_Hakoda said nothing, but picked the man up by his uniform collar and slammed him against the wall. He grabbed the man's head, repeatedly banging against the wood before throwing him out the door into the hall. Although Katara could no longer see the soldier, she could still see her father's back and the arm that pumped several times with several very powerful punches to the man's face. He was beating the soldier senseless. Katara had never seen her father that angry before and it scared her, but not as much as the soldiers that came afterward and overpowered Hakoda, dragging him off the already unconscious soldier. _

_They beat Hakoda to the floor with their rifles too many times to count. Katara flinched with each hit of the rifle that was laid on her father. She heard her mother scream again and her feet swing over the side of the bed in front of her vision, blocking the sight of her father being bludgeoned to death. Two soldiers came into the room and grabbed her mother, forcing her down the stairs and outside with the rest of their friends and family. _

_"What about this one?" a soldier asked as they left the house, pointing to her father lying beaten and broken on the floor._

_"Leave him," came a deep, disembodied voice at the bottom of the stairs. "He's as good as dead anyway."_

_The other soldier shrugged and left the house. Katara waited several seconds before gaining the nerve to crawl out from under the bed. She ran to the stairs and saw her father lying helpless and bloody on his back. _

_"Dad!" she cried, running to his side. He groaned as blood spurted out of his mouth and opened his eyes to look at her. "Dad, say something, please!" Her tears from before returned in higher volume this time and after hearing the soldier say that her father was as good as dead, she held a fear that this would be the last time she would see him. _

_"K-Kat-tara…" he managed to breath out, his voice raspy and broken. She leaned in closer to him so she could hear his quiet voice better. "You and…your bro-other must leave…Germany."_

_"Why?" she asked, not sure why she would leave her birth country. There were more footsteps coming from the hallway and she looked up from panic when she heard them stop right in front them. It was Sokka. When he saw his teary-eyed sister kneeling next to their bloody and dying father, his eyes widened in shock and disbelief._

_"Dad!" Katara's brother ran down the few stairs that separated him and his father and dropped to his knees next to his sister, picking up his father in his arms and holding him close to his heart. Frowning, he looked at his sister and barked: "What happened?"_

_Katara wiped the tears from her eyes and shook her head. "He stopped a soldier from raping mom and beat the man who did it. Then the rest of them came and beat dad to this."_

_Sokka squeezed his eyes shut and hugged his father's broken body tighter. _

_"Sokka…" Hakoda gargled. The gypsy in question opened his eyes and Katara saw a small amount of tears in her brother's eyes as he watched their father speak for the last time. "Take…take care of…of your sister…" That said, Hakoda lurched once before becoming still, his beaten and bruised eyelids closed over steel blue eyes._

Katara sighed and shoved the unpleasant memory from her mind. That had been the night before her twentieth birthday and it had taken her the good part of the past year to get over the terrible things that had happened that night. She remembered crying uncontrollably as she sewed her father's dead body up in a body bag she had made herself and burying him in the nearby forest before packing up their things and leaving for Poland where they met Toph, Aang and Suki.

However, now was not the time to dwell on the past. Now was a time to focus on the task at hand and past experiences that still had a chance of being resolved. She closed her eyes and remembered the night when she had watched the man she loved being taken prisoner in a death camp made for people like her. Her one constant worry was that Zuko was no longer in Auschwitz, but had been executed the very night he was captured. Every day after Jet and Longshot left to free him, she worried that the two Russians would come back without Zuko; that they would have gone and found nothing.

But still, after all her worrying, she knew Zuko had to be alive. She did not know what made her feel like that but somehow, her gut told her he was alive. Just as she turned to sit down on her bed and unpack a few items she would need for the night, Suki looked over at her friend and said the same thing that was on her mind.

"Do you think Jet and his friend will find Zuko?"

Katara smiled at Suki who sat with her knees pulled to her chest under the warm blankets. "I have every faith that they will," she replied.

"But how do we know that Zuko is still alive?" she questioned. "After all, he was a traitor to his country. Don't you think they would have executed him on the spot?"

Katara glanced down at her own bed covers. "I don't know," she said. "All I know is that I have a feeling that he's still alive and that's all I'm willing to believe right now."

They were silent for a long time after that. Neither one saying anything for several minutes until a knock sounded at the door making both girls jump. Standing up, Katara walked across the room to the door and opened it to see Pipsqueak standing outside their door.

"Um, hello?" she said, unsure of why he was there.

"Smellerbee says that we've been invited to dinner by The Duke's friends," he said in his deep voice. It still amazed Katara how such a big man could be named Pipsqueak.

"Are we going now?" Katara asked.

Pipsqueak nodded and turned to leave. "And she does not want you wearing anything worn from your travels." He then left, leaving Katara wondering what on earth she was going to wear. Shutting the door, she walked back in the room and began digging through her pack, trying to find something that was not worn out. Suki watched intently, curious as to what her friend was doing. Finally, at the bottom of her pack, Katara pulled out the light purple Roma dress she had worn the day she had met Zuko.

"That's a pretty dress," Suki commented. "How come you have it with you?"

Katara turned to look at her friend. "I was wearing this dress the day I met Zuko," she said. "I wore it when we went to get you but instead saw you being herded onto that train by the Nazis."

Suki said nothing at Katara's comment. She remembered that day vividly in her mind and wished she could remove the memory from her mind. She had nightmares about Auschwitz every night and she was just glad she had Sokka there to calm her down when she was frightened.

Katara continued digging through her pack and pulled out a nice skirt and long-sleeved shirt and handed them to Suki. "Here," she said. "You can wear this to dinner tonight." Her friend smiled as she climbed out of the bed and took the outfit from her. They both changed their clothes as fast as they could and headed out of their room. A few feet down the hallway, they saw Sokka and Aang exiting their room ahead of them. Suki's smile grew when she saw Sokka and she jogged up to him, taking his hand in hers as they walked off together.

Katara sighed when she saw her brother and Suki smiling, laughing, and holding hands. She wished she had Zuko with her so she could be as happy as her friend, but Zuko was not there. He was, she hoped, on his way to Sweden a few days behind them.

"Katara?" It was Aang and by the way he sounded, he had been calling her name several times before she even took notice.

"Hmm? What is it?"

"You seemed distant," he replied, a concerned look on his face. They were silent for a time before the teenager spoke again. "Were you thinking about him?"

"You mean Zuko?" she asked quietly. "Yes, I was. I'm just worried about him, that's all."

Aang stared at her as they walked down the hallway to the staircase. She seemed more than worried, yet he could not put his finger on it. "Do we even know if Zuko is still alive?"

There it was, the same question that had been plaguing Katara for the past several weeks. Ever since she witnessed his capture, she held a small feeling that maybe they did execute him on the spot. But no, he had to be alive. She could feel it. Her gut told her he was alive and so alive he was. There was no other explanation.

"But if he is or not," Aang continued. "Just remember that I'm always here for you."

She looked up and smiled at her friend. "Thank you, Aang," she said. "I appreciate it."

They arrived at the stairs and descended down to the lobby where they met Toph, Smellerbee, Pipsqueak, and The Duke along with The Duke's old friends. They were an older couple, but happy nonetheless. When all the introductions were made, the owners of the hotel led the group outside and shuffled them all into a rather large automobile which drove them several blocks down the road to their house.

Dinner was extravagant and delicious. The Duke's friends were wonderful cooks and there was enough for a feast set out on the table. No one would go hungry with this meal. Near the end of the meal, Smellerbee stood up and proposed a toast to their wonderful hosts, properly thanking them for the meal and the discount on the hotel rooms. After that, dessert was served, officially stuffing everyone's bellies to where they could not eat another bite. After the dinner, the couple gave the group a ride back to the inn where they went straight to their rooms, preparing themselves for bed.

"That was some dinner, wasn't it Katara?" Suki commented as she pulled her nightdress over her head.

Katara nodded and climbed in her covers, running her hands over the sheets to feel how soft they were. "It was tasty and there was so much of it. I'm not sure if I'll be hungry in the morning for breakfast."

Suki giggled as she laid her head down on the soft, fluffy pillows. "No kidding," she agreed. "After being underfed for two weeks, a meal like that is the equivalent to two feasts."

The gypsy merely smiled at her friend's remark, rolling over under her covers and closing her eyes. Zuko had been under fed for two weeks just as Suki had. _I wonder what kind of meals he's having now that he's free, _she thought to herself as she slowly drifted off to sleep.

---

Zuko let out a big breath as he dropped to the ground in their hilly campsite. His ankle was in immense pain as was his back and the many bruises and injuries he had received in Auschwitz such as the crudely replaced broken nose his sister had given him. He found the nearest patch of soft grass and plopped down on his stomach, making sure his burn was facing the darkening sky and the right side of his face felt cool, refreshing grass.

October was on its way and the weather was growing colder every night. Luckily, Longshot had bought three thick blankets from the last town they had passed through and all three of them were able to keep warm during the nights they had to camp out under the stars.

He could hear the two Russians bustling about behind him but he did not care, the grass was too comfortable and refreshing after the long hot day of walking. Zuko wished they were in Denmark already so they could take public transportation and sleep in comfortable inns every night.

"Longshot, tend to his bandages while I get a fire going," Zuko heard Jet say to the sniper. "Make sure he stays whole. We can't lag behind because of injuries; our schedule is tight."

The legs of the sniper in question appeared in his line of vision and he sighed. It was time to sit up. Lifting himself off the ground, he removed the shirt Jet had given him to replace the ratty one he had worn in the concentration camp. Once his shirt was off, Longshot kneeled down next to the German and peeled off the cotton bandages that covered his whole torso. Longshot tossed the dirty bandages in the medical pack and pulled out a fresh set. He set the cotton bandages down on the ground next to him as he took a wet rag to clean off any dirt and grime that had wedged its way into the wounds. Once clean, the sniper wrapped up Zuko's back with the clean gauze and then moved on to the cotton that covered his face.

After two more days, the burn had finally begun to blister, giving Zuko's face ugly boils and bad-smelling puss over his charred skin. Longshot rubbed the wet cloth over the dead skin, taking some of the blacken skin away and making the German's face look slightly more appealing than before. Once clean, he rewrapped the injury and moved on to his ankle. The sniper tested several areas, squeezing around the bone to find the area that was fractured. When his thumb pushed against the inside of his ankle bone, Zuko cringed, letting Longshot know he had found the crack in the bone. Nodding, the Russian cut off the bandages and replaced them with new ones, this time wrapped tighter around the fractured bone to ensure it healed properly.

Meanwhile, Jet had gotten a fire started and was now feeding it small sticks and brush he had collected from the hills nearby to make it bigger and hotter. When the fire was ready, Jet took three cans of beans and poured them in a pan that he held over the fire to cook. Longshot dug in his pack and pulled out a sack of dried meat which he passed out to his leader and to Zuko. The German gratefully took the meat, savoring the flavor but also eating hungrily. When the meat was gone, Jet took the beans off the fire and checked to see if they were warm enough to eat. Nodding, he took the cans they came in and gave each man a healthy serving.

Zuko looked at his can of beans and sighed. Oh, how sick he was getting of beans. Begrudgingly, he forked out a few and stuffed them in his mouth, chewing slowly. He watched the Russian leader as he ate, remembering what he had said to the German about why he did not like him. "After my wife died," he had said. So the man had a wife once. Two years he had wallowed in his grief until meeting Katara. But what happened? Jet had said that his wife had died two years ago, but that was when the war started. Russia had not even been involved yet and the only two countries that had been involved were Germany and Austria.

"So what happened?" Zuko asked the Russian.

Jet turned and glared at the German. "What?" he asked, sounding agitated.

"You said you had a wife once, what happened to her?"

Jet's eyes narrowed before he turned away and looked at Longshot. The sniper said nothing, just stared back at his leader for a few seconds and continued eating his beans. Jet sighed and stuffed a forkful of beans into his mouth before saying anything.

"I would rather not get into this," he said after swallowing.

"Fine," Zuko said, setting his full bean can down on the ground. "But remember that you were the one who brought it up in the first place."

Jet frowned and shot Zuko a filthy look. "Very well," he said in an almost growl. "I will tell you only because I let slip this information to you by accident." He paused and stared at the fire. Taking a deep breath, he began his story.

"I was twenty years old when I met her. Long before the war broke out, I was young, traveling around to see the world. I met her in Austria; she was a gypsy and the most beautiful woman I had ever seen and on my twenty-first birthday, I married her. We had been married for three years before the war broke out and we didn't believed that Hitler would go so far as to take people from their homes. It happened so suddenly we had no idea what hit us until it was over." He paused, his eyes closed recalling the dreadful memory while Zuko picked up his bean can again and continued eating.

"We were staying in a small town in Germany at the time when they came. I was gone, out in the hills. I could hear the shouts of the villagers from where I was and ran back as quickly as I could only to see the soldiers leaving the town with prisoners in their trucks. I asked frantically for her, but Hana was nowhere to be seen. Finally, I returned to the inn were we staying to find her lying motionless on the floor of the room. The soldiers had found her and tried to take her and by the looks of the room, she had fought back. I knelt next to her and picked her up. She smiled when she saw me and it was a beautiful as ever; but it was weak and strained. I looked down and saw blood all over her stomach. She was fading fast and there was nothing I could do."

Zuko felt the man's pain as he suddenly grew silent. He was about to say something when the Russian turned to look at him, his face a mask of pure sorrow and pain; something the German had never seen before. "She died. Right in front of me and I could do nothing." Jet looked back at the fire and continued. "After that, I returned to Russia and began training as a Partisan. I felt the need to stop the Nazis, to defend my home at whatever the cost. It was not until I received the mission to find you that I began to doubt my role in this war." He paused for a few seconds as he tossed his half-full bean can onto the fire. "I guess we'll find out who you really are when we get to Russia."

"So," Zuko started, but paused, wondering if he should ask his question or not. "The reason Katara attracts you so much is because she reminds you of Hana?"

Jet frowned. "I've told you enough!" he yelled. "I will hear no more of your questions, you dirty German!"

Zuko flinched at the insult thrown at him but said nothing. This man was in pain and he was not about to add to it by asking more questions. Sighing in defeat, the German tossed the bean can into the fire, unraveled his blanket and sleeping mat and went to sleep.

---

Jet groaned as he rolled over on his sleeping mat that night. The fire had burned down to embers and all he could do was stare into them while thinking about his conversation with the former Nazi. He wanted to tell Zuko that he was over Hana and that he liked Katara for Katara, but he knew that was not true. Katara was the spitting image of Hana, the same smile, same wavy hair, blue eyes, dark skin, stubborn attitude, everything. She even sounded like Hana. How could he not think of his deceased wife when Katara was around?

Zuko just threw a wrench in the system. If it was not for the German, he would have had a chance with the gypsy, maybe even have able to marry her. But she had eyes for only Zuko. Closing his eyes and turning his back to the smoldering embers of the fire, Jet sighed, pulling his blanket over his head and feel asleep.

"I miss you, Hana…"

**A/N: Well, there it is. Chapter 13 complete, Chapter 14 comming up! **

**I feel so sorry for Jet, he lost his wife and is faced with someone who is exactly like her but he cannot have her! Poor guy... The song "The Haunting" by Kamelot reminds me of Jet's situation. And Zuko's getting better! Woo Hoo! :)**

**Review please!**


	14. 14 Escape from Berlin

**A/N: Oh. My. Fucking. GOD! This chapter is sooooo Goddamn long it took me FOREVER! The damn thing is almost 20 pages long on Word. But finally! It is finished! =D **

**Enjoy everybody!**

Chapter 14—Escape From Berlin

October first finally rolled around and after spending two days in Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, to allow for rest and a replenishment of supplies, it was time to head north on the train to Helsingor, a small fishing village on the northern coast of the island. Sokka took his girlfriend's hand and helped her onto the train before climbing in himself and sitting across from his sister and Aang. He allowed Suki to sit in the seat right next to the window while he sat in the seat closest to the compartment door. Toph sat between Aang and Katara while Pipsqueak, Smellerbee, and The Duke sat in the compartment across from their own.

"I wonder what this fishing town will be like," Suki said, staring out the window at the city train station they would soon be leaving behind.

"I bet it's wonderful and full of happy and kind people," Aang replied, a big smile on his face.

"Yeah," Sokka grumbled. "And probably stinky, too."

"Sokka!" Katara cried, frowning at her brother. "Show some respect for the Danish!"

The gypsy only shrugged innocently before his sister. "Hey, all I'm saying is that a fishing village smells strongly of dead fish," he defended. "And dead fish doesn't smell all that great."

He saw his sister roll her eyes from his peripheral vision and sighed. She would find anything to snap at him for. Ever since she found out he had turned in Zuko to the Nazis at Auschwitz, she refused to talk to him unless she could yell at him. In all the years he had known his sister, she had never been this angry at anyone for this long. In all honesty, Sokka was frightened of his sister at this point. It was a new experience and he had no idea what to expect from her.

About halfway through the trip to Helsingor, Sokka had to step out to use the utilities. On the way back, he tripped on the edge of the compartment door and came tumbling in on Suki, who cried out in surprise but was otherwise unhurt. The entire compartment laughed at the gypsy, including Suki, as he grumbled, pulling himself up into a sitting position and crossing his arms in an angry pout. The rest of the trip was uneventful and, Sokka thought, rather boring. No one spoke, even Aang and Toph were sound asleep for most of the trip, Toph's head resting on Aang's shoulder and his, in turn leaning against the train window.

Finally, at five in the afternoon, the train pulled into the station at the small fishing village of Helsingor. Sokka woke his girlfriend from her peaceful nap and helped her off the train as he did getting on and joined the others on the platform. When he got there, he saw Smellerbee talking with an older woman with long, graying hair tied back with a few stray strands falling into her face. She seemed kind but at the same time stern and strict. She was a woman who only meant well when and if she yelled at you.

Walking over to the two conversing, Smellerbee turned to the group and introduced the woman she was talking to. "This is Karin," the Russian said, motioning to the Danish woman. "Her husband and son man a fishing boat that will take us across the ocean to Sweden." She paused, as if expecting someone to say something, but when no one said anything, she continued. "Tonight we will be staying with her and her family in their home and tomorrow, early in the morning, we will head out to the docks and board the boat. Any questions?"

No one moved, no one spoke, and just before Smellerbee spoke again, Sokka would have thought the silence was stifling.

"Good," the Russian woman said and walked off, motioning for the others to follow her. "Then let's go."

Karin nodded and walked to catch up with Smellerbee as the rest of the group followed suit. They walked through the streets until they came to the edge of the town and the beginning of the woods that lined the fishing town. Sokka held Suki's hand as they went through the trees, keeping her close to his side as if he were afraid to lose her.

She smiled at him. "You don't have to protect me all the time, Sokka," she said. "The trees aren't that scary during the day. Besides, I can take care of myself."

He shrugged. "I know that, I just feel like I should. It is a man's duty, after all."

Suki smirked and glared playfully at him. "A man's duty?" she asked, sarcasm in her voice.

Sokka smiled and nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, as a Gentleman, it is my duty to treat you like a queen!"

His girlfriend giggled. "Like a queen? I didn't think I was held in such high regard."

"Well, your knight did come and rescue his queen, did he not?" It was a rhetorical yet simple question that made Suki blush madly. Sokka loved it when she blushed, however rare it was, and when she smiled. It made her look even more beautiful than she already was.

They came out of the trees a few minutes later and headed across a field of tall grass to a small cottage near the seaside. The cottage had two levels and a barn with a chicken coop set up right next to it. As he studied the place, he could here Karin speaking to Smellerbee about the family's daily chores.

"I usually take care of the cows in the stable, I take the eggs from the chickens when they have any, and keep the house tidy and clean. My son, Haru, and his father feed the chickens and the cow and clean up the barn when they get home in the evening. I cook dinner while they work."

"I see, and when is that, usually?" Smellerbee asked.

"Around eight at night," the woman replied. "But the times usually vary."

"When will Haru and his father return home?" Sokka heard Katara ask.

"Very soon," Karin answered. "They should be mooring their boat as we speak and will return within the next hour."

Katara smiled. "That's great," she said. "I would love to meet them."

They entered the house and everyone thankfully set their packs down in the family room before gathering in the kitchen and deciding where everyone would sleep. The house was small, with only one couch and one extra bedroom. Also, one person would be able to share the bed with their son, Haru, and a few on the floor of the family room, but that still left three people out in the barn with the cows. Smellerbee took the initiative when no one could decide where they were going to sleep. She stationed Aang in Haru's room, Katara and Suki in the guest bedroom, herself and Toph in the family room, leaving Sokka, The Duke and Pipsqueak in the barn.

Sokka did not like the idea of sleeping with the cows, but he said nothing, merely nodded his agreement and left the house with the others to visit the beach. The three Russians stayed behind to talk with the Danish woman about the plans for crossing to Sweden.

Sokka walked out across the prairie where the grass ended and the sand begun. Standing at the edge of the grass, he stared out across the cool waters to the stretch of land barely visible at the other side of the ocean. They would arrive at Sweden tomorrow and their journey was over. He wondered if their German friend would arrive there after they would, or if he would go straight to Russia with Jet and his companion. After all, it was Jet's mission to begin with to find Zuko and take him back to Russia for debriefing. After a few minutes of pondering the situation, he soon came to the conclusion that Zuko would refuse to travel to Russia until he was able to see Sokka's sister beforehand.

"Sokka?" a female voice came from behind him. "Are you alright?"

He turned around to see Suki standing with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders to protect her from the chilling sea breeze. Although the wind did not affect the others, Suki had suffered more greatly than any of them combined and her greatly thinned and malnourished physique only allowed the cold to penetrate her much quicker. It was then that he had just realized he had been standing in that one spot for quite some time. Smiling, Sokka outstretched his arm, beckoning for her to come near him. When she was close enough, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to his warm body.

"I was just thinking about what Sweden will be like for us," he told her.

She nodded as they watched Toph cautiously place her bare feet in the cold water while Aang attempted to sneak up behind her and splash her with sea water. With her feet bare on the sand, she was able to feel him approaching and turned around quickly, splashing water in his face instead. They all laughed, Katara included, who busied herself with walking knee deep in the ocean, testing out how far she could go before her feet went numb.

A devious smile spread across Sokka's face as he watched his sister in the water. Glancing down at his girlfriend who had stopped shivering in his arms, a plan began to formulate in his mind.

"Suki, are you warm now?" he asked. She stared at him, wondering what he was thinking and nodded. "Good, cause I'm going to need your blanket real soon, and a few more."

Suki raised an eyebrow. "What are you planning?"

"You'll find out," he answered. "But for now, could you go back to the house and get us some more blankets, please?"

Suki said nothing, merely stared at him suspiciously before handing her boyfriend her blanket as he asked for it and walking across the prairie back to the house. Cracking the joints in his knuckles, Sokka removed his socks and shoes and snuck up behind his sister in the water. A chill ran up his spine when the cold water swirled around his ankles, soaking the bottom of his pant legs. Katara had the water up to her thighs now and to get close enough, the waves had to crash around his knees.

His smile never faltering, he was glad Toph and Aang were too busy messing with each other to notice his prowl. Once he was close enough, he prepared himself for a pounce and yelled his sister's name at the top of his lungs.

"Hey, Katara!" She jumped, surprised to find that her brother had been right behind without her noticing. Turning around, she had no time to even throw a glare at her brother before he grabbed her around the middle and picked her up out of the water. Katara squirmed, trying desperately to free herself from her brother's grip, but Sokka held fast, taking the hits she threw his way.

"Let me go, Sokka!" she yelled, thrashing at her brother's head. He just smiled and laughed at his sister's useless attempts to get away. Finally, after two minutes of Katara's yelling and thrashing, Toph frantically asking what was going on, and Aang just staring with rapt amusement at the scene before him, Sokka turned his back to the oncoming waves.

"Prepare to get wet, sis!" he cried and toppled backwards into the water.

"Sokka, don't you da—" but the rest of her sentence was silenced by the cold saltwater encasing his whole body. Once they were completely submerged in the water, Sokka released his sister who scrambled away, kicking him in the stomach in the process and bursting out of the water like a rocket. Opening his eyes, he smiled as he watched her legs stumble back to shore. Unable to hold his breath any longer, he stood up out of the water and burst out laughing.

Walking to shore in his sopping wet clothes, he ignored the shivers he endured from the cold wind against his wet body. He patted his sister on the back as she coughed and sputtered. The surprise of being dunked in the ocean had allowed for a small amount of seawater to enter her mouth but she was otherwise unharmed. Katara glared at her brother but when she saw how hard Sokka was laughing, she could not help but laugh in return.

"Don't you ever do that again," she demanded. But it did not sound as serious laughing as it would have if she was truly angry at him. It was then that he knew she had forgiven him for his past mistakes, she just refused to let him know she had.

"Come on," he said playfully, removing his sopping wet shirt and wringing it out. "You've got to admit that was fun."

Just as he and Katara were wringing out their wet clothes and Katara her hair as well, Suki returned with an armful of blankets and an expression that read, "What the hell just happened?"

"Sokka kidnapped me and threw us both in the ocean," Katara replied to Suki's unspoken question. The Jewish girl raised an eyebrow at Katara's casual explanation and the small giggle that escaped from her friend's lips every now and then, but otherwise said nothing as she gave the siblings the blankets they had collected.

They remained at the seaside for a while longer, Sokka trying to get Suki to huddle with him, insisting he needed her warmth to keep himself from shivering and Suki refusing, saying it was his own fault for getting wet. Besides, he would get her wet and that would only make her colder than she already was.

Near the end of their trip to the beach, the group had grown weary and eventually reduced themselves to sitting on the sand and staring out across the water to the stretch of land on the other side that was Sweden. Eventually, a female voice called from behind them and Sokka turned around to see Smellerbee walking up to them and gesturing for them to return to the house.

"Haru and his father have returned from the docks," she said. "And Karin has prepared supper for us all."

Giving into the growls in their stomachs, the group stood up and followed the Russian woman back to the farm house. When they arrived, Sokka saw two men, one young with dark hair and the other older with a grey beard and small amount of gray hair on his head, sitting at the small kitchen table. They both had tan, weathered skin given to them by the harsh sun and unyielding winds of the open sea. Long days of tossing out and reeling in nets of fish had toned the muscles of both men leaving them strong and sturdy as tree trunks.

When they entered the house, both men stood up and shook Sokka's hand, in turn shaking Aang's as well and kissing the knuckles of both Toph and Katara. The younger man, Haru, seemed to linger a little too long for Sokka's liking on his sister's hand and he glared at the man, sending a telepathic threat to the fisherman. Thankfully, his Protective Older Brother mode did not need to be flipped on once Karin called for her son to help serve the food to their guests.

Sokka kept his eye on Haru all night, making sure he did nothing that would indicate a slimy approach to get his sister in bed. He knew he was just paranoid about his sister's wellbeing, but he could not help it. After Zuko, he knew he had to keep a close eye on Katara. Zuko may not have turned out to be the type of man he thought he was, but that did not mean he would be wrong about others. True, Katara was old enough at the age of twenty to be able to take care of herself, but his father's last request of him was held firm in his mind. He would take care of his little sister whatever the cost.

Once Katara and Sokka had changed into dryer clothes, the whole group along with the three Russians gathered around the small kitchen table for the last meal of the day. Supper was made out of roasted mutton, baked potatoes, and fresh wheat bread lathered in delicious butter made from the cows out in the barn. It had been so long since any of them had eaten any kind of meat or dairy product that they all ate with eager aspiration. Since the German army had taken every last morsel of meat and dairy from their homes in Poland, it was a rare treat to have these products together in a single meal.

When they finished supper, they all went their separate ways, preparing to lie down for the night. Sokka watched his sister tiredly mount the stairs leading to the upstairs guest bedroom. His gaze switched over to the young fisherman who sat calmly in his chair in the kitchen and sipped at a glass of milk. Sokka thought he saw his eyes linger on Katara climbing the stairs then shift back to his mother when she disappeared around the corner. Karin called for her son to help wash the dishes from supper and Haru's attention turned to the new task at hand, his expression changing to one that gave no indication that he had shown any interest in the gypsy whatsoever. Perhaps he was imagining things due to recent, unfriendly events, but even still, he had to be cautious.

Sokka's eyes narrowed but he shook it off as he took his girlfriend's hand and helped her up the stairs to the guest bedroom. When they entered the room, he saw Katara pulling back the bedcovers, her nightdress already pulled over her head, her shoes neatly tucked away at the foot of the bed, and her hair brushed and untangled. As Suki turned around to change into her own nightdress, Sokka turned to his sister.

"You should be cautious of Haru," he told her. She looked up from the bed to give her brother a confused stare.

"What on earth are you talking about?" she asked.

"He likes you," he explained. "I think he wants more than just friendship from you."

Katara let out a slight laugh. "Oh, come now, Sokka." She shook her head at his absurd remark. "You're just paranoid. Haru is just a kind man. He's not what you think he is."

Sokka sighed. "I'm just looking out for you," he said in his defense.

She smiled before walking up to him and giving him a hug. "I know, but sometimes you take it a little too far."

He embraced his sister in return and left, allowing Katara and Suki their privacy for a good night's rest. Walking through the family room where Toph and Smellerbee were preparing their beds for the night, he left the house and headed for the barn where The Duke and Pipsqueak were surely already sound asleep in comfortable piles of hay. He knew Katara was right. He did tend to take Hakoda's request a little too far. His sister must think he's smothering her. Maybe he should give Katara a little bit more room, he was a little too impeding when it came to her life and he knew he was nothing short of a jackass when it had come to Zuko. Still, Sokka could not get the look he thought he saw in Haru's eyes when he looked at his sister out of his mind. Perhaps it was just his protective brotherly senses that went into overdrive when he saw Katara with men, but he could have sworn he saw a hint of lust in the young fisherman's eyes.

Maybe Katara was right. He was paranoid.

Shaking it off, he entered the barn, seeing The Duke and Pipsqueak fast asleep as he had predicted, and found a place for himself. Grabbing a thick blanket that had been set out for them to use, he threw it over his body and fell straight to sleep on a pile of soft hay.

---

Jet left the inn and walked down the street in West Berlin in the direction of an outdoor market he had seen when they had first arrived. The wanted posters of himself and the German were unsettling, but they need supplies and Zuko needed time to rest in a decent setting. An inn in Berlin was much homier than sleeping mats and blankets on the side of the road and would allow for much better healing.

He had made sure Longshot stayed with the sleeping German in the room while he was gone. He did not want the German to wander off somewhere alone with Nazi soldiers out searching for them everywhere they went. It was dangerous to stay in Berlin, Jet knew that, but it was the only place they were close too and night was falling fast. Making a rash decision, he ordered for them to stay in the German capital for only one night. Besides, Jet thought, what better place for the three to hide than right under their pursuer's nose?

He passed a small barber's shop and reminded himself that when he arrived in Denmark, he would treat himself to a good haircut and a clean shave. Being on the road for days at a time did a number on his hygiene and appearance. Glancing at himself in the reflection of the window, he concluded that he looked like a disgusting, homeless bum who just got kicked out of a bar for being completely shitfaced, obnoxious and broke. His long hair was matted and filthy, a beard was beginning to grow all across his face with a matching mustache to go with it, and his clothes were filthy and torn in several places most likely from the barbed wire in Auschwitz and the trees in the forest. Breathing deeply, he continued walking down the street until he came to the market and began browsing their selection of fruits and canned foods for their trip.

He had not been there long until rows of soldiers marched passed him in the market and down the road in the direction he had just come. Startled, he looked up and watched them from his discreet location behind a vendor of fruits and vegetables. He did not want them to see his face lest they recognize him from the poster's hanging on the wall of a nearby building. Brushing the event off as a normal drill, he continued perusing the vendors until a second row of soldiers marched passed, this time followed by confused expressions and questions that flew around the little market place like a swarm of locusts.

Jet blended into the crowd, trusting the lurching in his stomach that told him that something was not right. Slowly making his way out of the market place, he overheard a man inquiring a nearby guard about the sudden commotion and hubbub that so unceremoniously interrupted their beautiful day.

"The hideout of two fugitives has just been found," the soldier replied without looking at the man. Jet narrowed his eyes from his position right behind the German civilian. "These soldiers are going to apprehend them now."

The Russian slipped down a back alley and ran as fast as he could back to the inn where he had left Longshot and Zuko. He had to get back to the inn before the guards did. If not, his mission, his life, everything he had worked so hard to achieve, would be lost. Darting down a new road free of soldiers, it was a straight shot to the inn. If he made it in time, he would be able to sneak in the back entrance and warn the two men in time to make a clean getaway.

The inn was in sight within a few seconds. As quickly as he could without arousing suspicion, Jet flew up the stairs to the second floor of the inn and ran down the hall before hastily entering the room and locking the door behind him. When he turned around, Zuko had just woken up from his short nap while Longshot looked up at his leader with a surprised and questioning expression on his face.

"We need to leave," he said without explanation. When no one moved, he barked at them. "Now!"

"What the hell is going on?" Zuko asked as he jumped out of bed and began shoving items into his travel bag. "Why the urgency?"

Jet grabbed his pack that was stuffed full and hoisted it over his back. "In about two minutes, German soldiers will be banging down our door. If we want to avoid getting arrested, we better leave."

Jet saw Zuko's eyes widen when he heard the news and his progress immediately sped up. Longshot on the other hand, made no attempt to pack or run. He simply took his rifle and stowed it under the bed where Zuko had been laying. One glance from the silent sniper was enough to tell Jet what the man was planning. Nodding, he took out a rope and tied a three-barbed hook on the end. Grabbing Zuko by the arm, he dragged the German over to the window that overlooked a back alley. They would not be able to exit out the back of the inn because by now it would be crawling with Nazi soldiers.

The Russian exited first, hanging on to the window panes before tossing the grappling hook up over the roof of the building, making sure it did not pass over another window. It passed over the fourth story of the inn before tugging on the rope to make sure the hook was fastened tightly against a solid object. Now gripping the rope, he ducked under the open window and motioned for Zuko to follow him.

"Get your butt over here, stupid!" he almost yelled when the German did not move but stood staring dumbly at the Russian hanging out the window. It was not until they could hear a loud knocking on their room door did Zuko start towards the window.

"Open up!" They could hear the soldier's thick German through the thin, wooden door of the inn. "If you do not open up, we will force our way in!"

Zuko gripped Jet's hand and allowed the Russian to help him out the window.

"You go up first," Jet ordered, as he sidestepped on the window sill to allow the German to grab the rope.

"What are we doing?" Zuko asked, obviously confused. But Jet spared no time and hastily shoved the man up the rope.

"Escaping," he quickly replied. "Now climb!"

The German did as he was told, gripping the rope as ordered, he used all his strength to hoist himself up the side of the building. Jet followed right behind him, pulling the end of the rope up with him so none could be seen unless the soldiers leaned out the window and craned their backs to look up.

Jet could hear the commotion in the room below them. Even when he and Zuko were standing on the roof of the building, the shouts could be heard as clearly as if he were standing right outside the room. The moment the door to the room was busted down, shouts issued from the window and resounded up to the roof.

"Where are they!?" he could hear the man screech. Obviously, Longshot remained silent just as he always did which made the soldier even angrier. "Answer me, fool!"

It was silent for a short while until shuffling could be heard and the soldier's head poked out of the window below. Jet smiled as he leaned over the side of the building to watch, knowing full well what had happened. Longshot had pointed out the window, indicating that the "fugitives" had escaped out the window and into the alley below. A complete lie but one the soldier was dumb enough to believe.

Tucking his head back in the room, he shouted at his men. "They've gone down the alley! Get down their quickly and inform the rest. I want you to cut them off before they escape the city!"

The soldiers shuffle out the door and down the stairs before one asked their officer a question. "What do we do with him?"

"Leave him," the Nazi answered. "He was smart enough to tell us where the fugitives have gone and will not be punished." Then they were gone. Not even a shuffle of the boot could be heard from their position on the roof.

"Great," Jet heard Zuko say behind him. "Now how do we get down?"

Jet sighed and turned around. "Same way we got up."

"But then how will you get your grappling hook back?"

"I don't need to," the Russian explained as he re-hooked the barbs to the side of the building and swung over the edge. "I have another one in my pack. Now get over here, we've got to go." Jet then slipped down the wall, not even waiting to see if Zuko followed or not. He knew that if the man wanted to leave the city and continue to Sweden, he would follow.

When they climbed back into the room through the window, Longshot was waiting for them, his things packed away and rifle hidden discretely as a shovel strapped across his back. They left the building, not bothering to pay the innkeeper for their short stay, and slipped out the back door. By now, the soldiers were gone and on their way to intercept fugitives that were not there so the way was clear.

The soldiers had run east through the city, making the tiny group's path easier to traverse. They had to travel west to escape the city and Longshot had sent them in completely the wrong direction.

They kept to the crowds knowing full well that it would be difficult to spot three fugitives in a city filled with innocents. After an hour, they were about eight blocks from the edge of the city and on their way to leave with no more problems when they made a wrong turn.

Zuko was the first to turn right onto a new road when he literally ran into a guard coming the other way. The soldier seemed angry at first, snapping impatiently as Zuko worked diligently as an innocent civilian to help pick the man up off the sidewalk and back onto his feet. The soldier brushed aside Zuko's help until he finally looked the German fugitive in the face.

"Zuko?" he asked in a tone that sounded more like a long lost friend than someone trying to apprehend them. "Is that you?"

Jet shot a glance at the German who appeared to be staring wide-eyed at the soldier he had inadvertently knocked to the ground. It was not until Zuko spoke the man's name that Jet realized that the two were old friends.

"Hans? What are you doing here?" After a brief moment of surprise, the two men smiled and embraced each other in a brotherly fashion.

"It's been forever, my friend!" Hans spoke with joyous enthusiasm at finding his old friend again. "What have you been up to?"

Jet growled and tapped Zuko on the shoulder. This was not a time for catching up. "Zuko, we need to get going."

The German nodded and turned back to his friend. "Listen, Hans," he started. "Where in a little trouble, could you help us get out of the city? I'll explain on the way." Hans looked behind his friend at the two Russians standing impatiently behind him. When he studied the both of them, he nodded and motioned for them to follow him.

"This way," he said and took off jogging down the street in the direction they were originally headed. Jet saw the German smile, apparently happy he found someone in the Nazi army he could trust, but the Russian was not so easily persuaded. This Hans may have been friends with Zuko a while back, but there was no way he could be the same as he was back then. Hitler had changed the world so drastically; even a man's personality could change as a result of his power. He glared at the man's back and the swastika armband wrapped around his uniform as Zuko ran up beside him and explained the situation.

When Zuko came back to talk to the Russians, Jet brought up his distress. "Can we really trust this man? He is a Nazi after all and war does change a man." he asked, expressing his concern through his tone.

Zuko nodded. "He's an old childhood friend of mine. We grew up together and he was the only friend I ever had growing up. I know he can help us."

Jet only nodded, not even bothering to argue with the German. There was no point in arguing with a man who had it set in his mind that they could trust someone. So they followed him. Hans led them through an intricate zig zag of street corners and winded roads before Jet decided to ask where they were going.

"I'm just making sure no one is following us," he answered. "I know Zuko said that they went in the wrong direction, but I just want to be cautious."

Jet raised an eyebrow at the man's answer but said nothing. He wanted to wait and see what this Nazi had in store for them.

"We should get to my home soon. I have a car you can use to leave the city in without being noticed."

They rounded a corner only to find a whole group of soldiers standing just around the building they were headed. The soldiers immediately looked up and eyed the group with surprise that soon turned to fierce determination.

"Well done, Wolfe," a well-decorated officer stated when he saw the Nazi who had led them to the intersection. "Now hand over the fugitives as ordered."

Jets distrust of the man instantly turned to hatred and anger at the same time his face went from shock to a glare that could burn through metal. He was right about this Hans fellow Zuko had sworn was a good man. Glancing at the German in question, Jet saw that Zuko had an expression of shocked disbelief on his face.

"Hans, what is going on?" Zuko asked. It was obvious from his tone that he was worried, and slightly angry at what had been said.

Jet could only see the back of Hans' head when the man spoke, but he could tell he felt no remorse for his actions. "I'm sorry, Zuko," he said. "But I cannot allow a traitor to go free." He turned around to face his friend. "Even if they are an old, childhood friend."

Hans Wolfe stepped back with the soldiers in the intersection and pulled his weapon at the same time, pointing it at the three fugitives. Jet eyed each soldier, carefully calculating what each man would do if any of them made the slightest movement. The three were in a tight situation, more so than they were at the inn. Even with his experience as a Partisan and years of training, Jet could not think of a way out.

It was just when the Russian thought that they would have to surrender and was regretting ever agreeing to go to Sweden in the first place when out of nowhere, the intersection was lit up with gunfire as a black sedan came barreling through, finally spinning to a stop between the Nazi soldiers and the three fugitives. Jet lingered long enough to see a handsome man with blonde hair and blue eyes jump from the car with three others, guns blazing and voices yelling at the top of their lungs. They immediately attacked the soldiers, giving Zuko and his Russian escorts the proper diversion for an escape.

Grabbing the German by the upper arm, Jet pulled him away from the intersection and down a new street devoid of soldiers but packed with civilians. They shoved through the busy crowd, attempting to draw the least amount of attention to themselves as they possibly could running through the streets of Berlin. After passing through an intersection, Jet heard a few angry shouts from behind him and turned around to see Zuko stumble and fall into a group of women who had been walking along the street on a casual shopping spree judging by the paper-wrapped parcels they carried under their arms.

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Jet doubled back and helped the injured German back to his feet and relentlessly dragged him on. He knew that the smallest bit of commotion would attract attention from the soldiers. Zuko's recent spill would have that section of the street crawling with guards in no time flat.

The three continued running down the street until Jet heard someone yell a small distance behind them. "There they are!" Turning around, he saw a group of soldiers chasing after them while pushing innocent civilians out of their way.

Turning back to face what was in front of him, Jet saw another small group of soldiers coming at them from their other side. His stomach did a flip as he felt his body panic at the sight of them. But his mind took advantage of their surroundings and used the crowd to their advantage. Making sure he spoke loud enough for both Zuko and Longshot to hear him, but keeping quiet enough so that the soldiers could not, he told both of them to duck and crawl below the heads of the people in the street. He could tell the soldiers were having trouble finding them as soon as their heads disappeared in the sea of people.

Jet was still looking for an outlet. As far as he knew, they were still trapped in the street square. He glanced around until he saw a small alleyway and shuffled his companions into the dark, shadowed space where they could not be seen. Jet continued to back them up facing the street they had just come from but did not notice the street behind them opening up as the other in front of them closed. Jet finally stopped backing up when he saw the soldiers pass by the mouth of the alley, bicker for a moment, and run off all together back to the intersection they had come from. He heard Zuko let out a sigh of relief that he was only able to enjoy for a split second. As soon as they watched the soldiers run off, Jet felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around to face the one man who had betrayed them to his comrades.

Hans Wolfe's smiling face stood in front of him with a pistol pointed right at his gut. Jet could only assume the man had gone all the way around the block to cut them off in the alley way. Before anyone could do anything, Longshot pulled the rifle he had strapped to his back and belted the traitor hard across the face. Now was their chance. Longshot knew what to do, but Jet had to grab Zuko's arm once again and drag him off in the opposite direction he was staring. This man was a soldier? It was hard to believe now that he was reduced to a dumbstruck, lovesick fugitive.

They ran back to the crowded street they came from as more soldiers appeared at the end of the alley they were running away from. Jet could hear the man Longshot decked yell in a now distorted voice at his comrades. "They went that way! Get them!"

When they reached the street, they weaved in and out of the crowd, trying desperately to evade the Nazis trailing them. As they reached the next cross street, Jet dragged them down a new road, one less populated but still rather crowded. However, this street had more vehicle traffic than the last one. As they ran, Jet became aware of a black sedan following their movement on the sidewalk from the road. When they came to another intersection, the Russian was surprised to find the car swerve in front of them and stop. The door opened and Jet could see the young blonde haired man from before sitting in the driver's seat, his other two companions suspiciously missing.

"Get in," was all he said. He seemed like a shifty fellow but quite serious. Glancing at the silent sniper, one look was all Jet needed to clarify that this kid was the only chance they had of escaping the city alive. Nodding once, he shoved Zuko in the back seat, Longshot following, while he himself took the front passenger's seat.

The moment the door closed, the car sped off down the street at an alarming rate. The man did not even bother to offer an explanation of who he was or what he was doing and only whooped and hollered at the top of his lungs with joy as they weaved in and out of traffic and caught the attention of the soldiers. The young man, no older than a few days passed twenty, was enjoying the chase, giving the Nazis something to chase. A sure way to create a distraction from some other purpose the young man had in mind.

Jet had no problem zooming in and out of traffic with a high chance of crashing. He knew Longshot was completely calm but when he turned around to look in the back seat, he noticed that Zuko's visible eye had grown wide with fear. It was obvious the German had never traveled so fast in a car in his entire life.

The Russian turned his eyes back to the road whipping by in front of him. The nose of the car nearly missed hitting the concrete side of a building by an alarming distance of two feet. In the rearview mirror, Jet could see three black cars trailing the rouge vehicle quite closely. His life and that of his three companions were now in the hands of one young blonde boy in the driver's seat yelling excitedly at the top of his lungs.

He glanced back again only to see that one of the black cars trailing them had disappeared. Frowning, Jet settled back in his seat but caught something out of the corner of his eye. Turning to look out the passenger side window, he was surprised to find that he had not expected to see the missing black car right next to them. The Nazi in the driver's seat held a Broom Handle in one hand, pointed directly at Jet while the other hand gripped the steering wheel tightly. The Russian yelled, whether he said anything comprehensible or just gibberish he left up to the others in the car to determine.

The soldier driving the car next to them took his eyes off the road for a short moment and took aim at the Russian sitting in the passenger's seat of the sedan. Jet was about to yell at their mysterious driver to duck low when the sedan took a sudden turn down a small, one way street; ironically driving the wrong way and startling many unaware citizens from the street to the almost nonexistent sidewalk. Luckily, no cars came the other way and the black volts wagon with the driver that was about to shoot them was unable to follow, and as Jet stuck his head out the window and looked behind them, he saw it had skidded in its attempt to follow them and slammed into the side of the building. Several civilians had already congregated around the volts wagon in an attempt to see if the driver and passengers were all right. Unfortunately, the other two volts wagons had not had to overcompensate for the sudden turn and were hot on their trail just as they had been.

Shots fired from the two remaining volts wagons and Jet had to quickly pull his head back into the sedan to avoid several bullets that narrowly missed digging into several points of his skull. The glass on the back window shattered, startling Zuko who covered his head in surprised. But Longshot was unperturbed by the sudden disturbance and immediately took out his rifle to retaliate.

"Great idea!" their mystery driver called to the back seat. "Hit 'em with all you got!" He let out an ecstatic whoop before skidding back out onto another large and busy street.

Jet had no gun or rifle and felt utterly useless in this particular field of battle. Zuko would be of no help at all. Having one eye almost completely destroyed by fire, his eyesight was no longer what it used to be. Adjusting in his leather seat to look in the back, he asked the German to cough up the Broom Handle he had taken from Auschwitz while Longshot readied his rifle. He seemed reluctant at first but when he realized how damaged he was, he begrudgingly gave up the weapon.

Cocking a bullet into place, Jet leaned out the window of the black car and took aim at their pursuers. He squeezed the trigger, holding his arm steady to keep the recoil from smacking his knuckles against his face. The bullets tore little rivets in the side of a building just short of the pursuing Volts Wagons and caused a few innocent pedestrians to scream with surprise. The Russian silently cursed under his breath. He should have known. Though the Broom Handle was a very versatile weapon, it was still just a pistol. Frustrated, he tossed the weapon back into Zuko's lap.

"You, Aryan," Jet said with a demanding voice, pointing at their driver. "Is there a weapon in this car I will be able to use against our pursuers?"

Their mystery driver did not respond right away, but shouted with excitement as he took the car around a very sharp turn down a very long and narrow underground tunnel. Jet was nearly thrown out of the speeding car through his open window from the sudden change in direction but was able to grab onto the back of his seat to keep himself inside. Glancing in the back seat, he saw Longshot take quick and careful aim at the first car that appeared in the tunnel after them and fired. A visible crack appeared in the windshield of their pursuers and the Volts Wagon swerved and slammed into the side of the tunnel, spinning around and finally coming to a stop in the middle of the road. Before the Nazis were able to climb out of the crunched up car, the second and last Volts Wagon crashed into the side of their destroyed companions, shoving the vehicle to the side of the tunnel.

The last Volts Wagon continued to chase after them, remaining unharmed throughout the chase through the tunnel. When they emerged from the underground tunnel, their mysterious driver finally saw fit to answer Jet's question.

"I have a Kar 98 under my seat. You can have your bandaged friend get it for you."

Jet looked back at Zuko and nodded. Understanding, the German bent over and shoved his hand under the seat, fishing for the military grade rifle. While he waited, Jet kept his eye on the road that zoomed by beneath them. They were driving through a market place of sorts. When they were spotted, pedestrians seemed to run out of the way to sidewalks. It still did not matter, however. Their driver was so reckless and had so much determination to lose the Nazis chasing them that he was all over the road. When a fruit cart had found its way right in front of them, their driver jerked the wheel to the right, sending the car into a drifting skid, narrowly missing the cart and ultimately disrupting Longshot's aim.

The Russian in the front seat stared back at the sniper with disbelief. Never in his life had Jet known Longshot to miss a target. He looked up to see the wet road from a busted water barrel as a result of the sniper's missed target zoom by beneath the pursuing Volts Wagon. Jet could hardly believe what his eyes had shown him. Longshot had missed his target only because of the unpredictable movements of the car they were riding in. The rough ride was sure to disrupt anyone's aim. Now Jet was just trying to justify his companion's blunder. It did not matter, though. If he had to pick anyone to cover his ass from a distance, he would, without hesitation, choose Longshot over any other sniper in all of Europe.

Jet saw Zuko's face turn from concentration to excitement out of the corner of his eye. Glancing down, he was just in time to see the German pull the Kar 98 out from under the seat. He handed it to the Russian who took the weapon with a sadistic smile on his face. Finally, this chase was about to come to an end.

Once again, Jet leaned out the passenger side window of the black sedan. Readying the rifle, he took careful aim and unloaded several rounds in the direction of their pursuers. He was careful not to hit any innocents as he readied the rifle once more. He had hit the hood of the Volts Wagon chasing them, but the car was still in working order and gaining on their rear. The Nazis unleashed their own firepower, the rounds flying right through the already busted back window and shattering the windshield in turn. The glass was forced back into the cab by the wind, falling onto their driver and Jet. Wind hit the side of Jet's face just as it had when his head was outside the window. Now it was no different inside the car than outside.

"Hey! Watch it!" their driver yelled, shoving his hand out the window and flashing a derogatory hand gesture at the gaining Nazis. "Assholes!"

Jet ignored the young man and concentrated on aiming right for the driver of the Volts Wagon. His aim was no match for Longshot's and as he unloaded more rounds at the black car, he succeeded only in creating a distraction so that his sniper companion could easily take out the driver himself. Jet watched as the windshield shattered, the enemy driver keel over backwards against his seat, and the now destroyed Volts Wagon swerve and crash into a building Jet assumed was a police station given the sign and the men in uniforms that were not Nazi gathering around the crashed vehicle.

Sighing with relief, the Russian sat back down in his seat. He relaxed as he put the rifle he held on safe and set the butt on the floor of the car, resting the barrel between his knees. He made sure to keep the muzzle pointing up at the ceiling and not his own head. Looking in the back seat, he saw Longshot lower his own rifle and placed it back in its holder on his back. Jet then looked over at Zuko, the very cause and reason why they had men after them, and noticed that his face was surprisingly calm. Of course, being a hardened German soldier, he was used to the field of battle and recovered quickly from the shock and exhilaration they had just experienced. Nodding once, Jet turned back to face the wind whipping through the smashed windshield.

Now that they were no longer being chased by cold-hearted, New World Order obsessed Nazis, their driver had slowed down the car and was actually more reserved around them. His face was serious, almost angry and he seemed as if he wanted to ask the three several questions but did not know where to start. But before he was able to say anything, Jet spoke first.

"Who are you?" he asked. "Why did you save us?"

Their mystery driver calmly turned a corner onto a secluded side street before answering. "My name's Alphonse," he said. "Alphonse Ostheim. I am the leader of an underground resistance force devoted to driving the Nazis out of Berlin." The car slowed as it came to a cross street and stopped. Alphonse glanced down the street and when no cars were coming, he pulled out and turned right. "When I saw your posters, I knew that if you came here, you would need my help. I had no idea you would actually be stupid enough to come to Berlin!"

Jet glared at the man. He did not like that this man was already insulting them after he just met them. The car took a left into a thin alley way. When they emerged from the alley, they came across a large, broken down building. The windows were busted in and one corner was rotted and crumbling. Jet was surprised to find that this was where the man called Alphonse lived when he drove the sedan through a large doorway that led to an underground parking garage.

Alphonse parked the busted black sedan and they all crawled out of the vehicle. As soon as they were all standing and stretching their tight limbs, a girl shouted from the other end of the garage.

"Al!" she called. Alphonse turned, along with the three fugitives, to see a tall blonde haired girl run from a flight of stairs towards the Resistance leader. Jet's eyes widened in astonishment as the girl jumped up into Alphonse's arms, hugging him tightly.

"It's okay, Sarah," he said in a soothing voice. "I'm fine."

The Russian was immediately gripped with one solid question: who the hell is this? But he felt a little silly after seeing the Aryan tenderly kiss the girl on the lips before setting her back down on her feet.

"I was so scared," the girl, who looked no older than seventeen, said as she rubbed the back of her hands. "When I heard about the dangerous car chase and the battle in the square, I thought…" Her voice trailed off as the young man lovingly ran his hands down her arms.

"Everything is fine, Sarah," he said, reassuring her. "I am unharmed and my men are not far behind me." He smiled, his face kind, and she could not help but smile in return. Alphonse then turned to the three fugitives that had arrived with him. "Gentlemen, I'd like you to meet my wife, Sarah Ostheim. She is one of few Jews who were not taken to the camps when the Nazis came to take them away."

"But she seems so young," Jet heard Zuko comment. "Where is her family?" Jet knew the young German was thinking strongly of himself and his gypsy, Katara. His sadness was written all over his face.

"Her parents have been safely smuggled out of the country and are living safely in Denmark. I had my best friend and most trusted man take them there personally."

"But how was she able to stay in the city while her parents were smuggled out?" Jet asked, his curiosity about the girl growing.

"Alphonse tricked the soldiers into thinking that I was his little sister," the girl said, speaking to the three fugitives for the first time. "He used to have a younger sister who looked a lot like me. She died of pneumonia when she was six."

The five of them were silent for a while before Alphonse spoke up, breaking the eerie silence. "Well, that's enough of that depressing topic!" he piped up with obvious fake joy. "Come, let me show you to your rooms." Taking Sarah's hand, he walked off towards the staircase the girl had run down from only moments before.

"We're staying the night?" Zuko asked, confused.

"Of course," the Aryan responded. "You can't leave now; the Nazis will be all over you in seconds. It would be wise to stay a while and wait for things to simmer down before trying to escape."

Jet sighed from exhaustion. He was about to say the exact same thing to their German companion before the young Resistance leader beat him to the punch. He was right though, it would be unwise to try and leave while the Nazis were still hot on their trail. It was best to wait for the best possible moment before making their escape. Beckoning for his companions to follow him, he followed Alphonse to the stairs to the upper levels of the old building.

---

Zuko grumbled as he slowly woke up from his long sleep. He opened his eyes slightly only to see the body of a girl sitting in a chair next to his bed. As he slowly fought away sleep, he realized that he was lying on his stomach, his shirt removed and he could feel cool water dribbling down his wounded back. His ankle was wrapped tightly with something harder than the linen that had been used before.

Opening his eyes all the way, he positioned his head in an uncomfortable position to see Sarah, the blonde Jewish girl from the day before dabbing at his wounds with a soaking wet cloth. It was then he realized that the bandages that covered his left eye were missing leaving the ugly burn to air out. Strangely, it felt rather good to have cool, fresh air kiss the burned flesh. Lately it had become so hot and sweaty beneath the cotton bandages he could have sworn a horrible smelling puss had formed over the charred skin.

Now the smell was gone and replaced by something else. …Roses?

Grumbling, he slowly pushed himself up off the mattress, startling the poor girl that was tending to him. Zuko turned, swung his legs off the side of the bed and sat up straight, rubbing his unburned eye with the heel of his hand. He yawned before finally looking the girl Sarah in the eyes and asking her what time it was.

"Um, ten thirty," she replied. He nodded and said nothing more. "Uh, do you mind?" Sarah said awkwardly. "I wasn't finished." She gestured toward the cloth she had floating in a bowl of soapy water. Understanding right away, Zuko lay back down on the bed and allowed her to continue washing the scabs the whip had left in his back. He had noticed that his ankle had been sealed in a plaster cast. Where these people managed to find plaster casting was a mystery to him.

He allowed her to finish cleaning his scabs while he wrapped his arms around his pillow, effectively making a perfect chin rest. Her touch was gentle and caring and for the first time since receiving the wounds, his back did not hurt. The girl reminded Zuko strongly of Katara and he relaxed on the pillow, knowing he would see her soon.

When she was finished cleaning she dried off his skin with a warm towel and told him to sit up. "You can put your shirt back on now if you want."

He did, buttoning it up as she cleaned up her mess of bandages and dirty cloths. When she left the room, he realized that she had not bandaged up his eye again. Concluding that she had left it like that on purpose to keep the wound clean, he stood up and walked across the room to a mirror that hung on the wall. He studied his reflection in the mirror, carefully touching the burn around his left eye to feel how well it was healing. It was not bad but he would never look the same again.

The burn had finally begun to scab over, leaving his face horribly disfigured and ugly. Turning his face to the right, he pulled back the long, scraggily hair that had grown out during his travels and got a good look at his destroyed ear for the very first time. It was a lot smaller now. The cartilage had been almost completely burned away by the oil lamp leaving a small little stub with a very miniscule amount of cartilage that served for a poor hearing device. He decided he was lucky to still have even a face after what had happened to him.

Sighing deeply, he left the room and headed out down the hall in search of Jet and Longshot. According to Alphonse from the night before, the three of them would leave the next morning just as soon as all of them woke up. Turning a corner, Zuko ran down a flight of stairs and ended up in a small room that doubled as a kitchen and a dining room. Two tables were set up near open windows with the curtains drawn while the stove and oven were situated against the wall adjacent to the door the German had just entered.

He saw the girl, Sarah, starting up the stove and take out several potatoes, a shredder, and a large frying pan. He realized when she took out a few more ingredients that she was making a traditional German breakfast; Potato Pancakes.

Zuko made his way to the table and sat down next to Longshot. Alphonse and Jet sat across from him. As soon as he sat down the Resistance leader took out a small cup and poured hot tea. He handed the tea to the German across from him who took it gratefully, blowing on it to cool it down and taking small sips.

"So, I was wondering, "Alphonse said as he watched Zuko sip at his tea while stirring sugar into his own. "How did you manage to burn the left side of your face?"

Zuko nearly choked on the tea he was drinking when he heard the young man's question. Setting the cup down on the table, he glanced quickly at Jet who did not look back at him but closed his eyes and sipped at his tea silently. It was obvious the Russian had not told Alphonse anything or perhaps told him to ask Zuko himself. Never the less, it was an honest question that deserved an answer.

"I got it from an oil lamp at Auschwitz while I was escaping," he replied, fingering his tea cup nervously. He wished the man had never asked the question so he would not have to remember that horrible night. "My sister was the one to smash the lamp in my face."

Even though Zuko suddenly found great interest in his tea cup, he knew Alphonse wanted to ask more but a look from Jet was enough to tell him to let the subject drop. Instead, he changed the subject to escaping from the city. "So anyways, on a lighter note, we will be able to get you out of Berlin this morning." He paused while his wife Sarah came and placed a new pot of tea in the middle of the table before removing the now empty one. "I have another car that we just received a few weeks ago and has not been used yet. We just fixed it up and got it running two days ago so the Nazis do not know that we have it." He glanced at Jet before turning back to Longshot and Zuko. "Your leader has told me that you are traveling to Sweden, is this correct?"

Zuko and Longshot both nodded in unison before Alphonse continued. "Then I will give you this car to take you there."

"But don't you need it?" Zuko asked. It seemed strange that a fugitive from the Nazis would give up a valuable asset to help travelers.

"We have plenty of perfectly good working cars in the garage below ground. This was just one we would hope to sell for some money to buy food. But as it turns out, we don't need to sell it. While my men and I were distracting the soldiers in that intersection we found you in, others who work with me were sneaking into the building they were guarding and they made out with lots of valuables and money. The car was a last resort unless we could not pull off the mission."

Zuko nodded once. "I see."

"After breakfast, you will pack all your things and head down to the garage. Once you load all your belongings into the car, I will direct you on the best route out of the city. After that, it is up to you. I cannot help you any further than that."

Zuko merely nodded, assuming Alphonse had already told Longshot and Jet this information. After that, the kitchen was silent aside from the sound of the potato pancakes sizzling on the frying pan. Not long after, Sarah filled four plates with two pancakes each and handed them out to the men sitting at the table before filling her own plate and sitting down at the end of the table next to her husband. They ate in silence, a few of them every so often reaching into the center of the table to the applesauce jar to dip their pancakes in for added flavor.

When breakfast was over, Sarah took everyone's plates and set them in the kitchen sink to wash later. She then joined Alphonse and escorted Jet, Longshot, and Zuko downstairs to the underground garage. While they descended the stairs, Zuko caught Jet filling his pip with tobacco, shoving the end in his mouth and lighting it. Immediately a terrible smelling smoke billowed up from the pipe making the German crinkle his nose in disgust.

As they made their way across the large room when they arrived downstairs, Zuko glanced around at the many assortments of vehicles the Resistance leader owned. From Volts Wagons to American-made Chevys; he had them all. He was even surprised to see a Japanese car in which he did not recognize.

They walked passed a small clump of Motorcycles and came across a dull gray farm truck. The moment the group stopped walking, Jet flung his bags into the bed and opened the driver's side door. Getting in, he started up the engine, revving it a few times to make sure it worked properly as Zuko and Longshot followed the Russian's lead, tossing their own bags in to the bed and climbing in the truck.

The old truck had only one row of seats making the three of them sit side by side. However, the cab was spacious and wide so each man had plenty of elbow room. Longshot had climbed in before Zuko so the German was given the luxury of a window seat allowing cool, fresh air to blow in his face as they drove.

Comfortably situating himself, Zuko reached out and grabbed the open passenger door and slammed it shut. He was about to roll down the window when he caught Jet's eye who glared menacingly at him and shook his head. Nodding once, the German removed his hand from the window crank and sat back in his seat. He understood Jet's reasoning. If his window was rolled down, there was a high chance a Nazi soldier would recognize him easily. They could not take that risk.

He would be safe to roll down the window once they were out of the city.

Jet shifted into reverse and was about to back out when the girl, Sarah, rapped three times on his closed window. He kept his foot on the brake and Zuko watched as the Russian rolled down the window to talk to her.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Here," she said, handing him a small bag Zuko had seen from the kitchen only a few minutes earlier. "This should last you until you get to Denmark. It will hopefully cut down time for lunch breaks."

Jet took the bag and handed it to Longshot who in turn handed the bag to Zuko. Curious, he undid the tie at the top and peered inside. The bag was filled with lots of bread and several different types of cheeses. It was not much, but it was better than beans.

Tying the bag off and placing it on the floor by his feet, Zuko looked back over to Jet and Sarah outside the window that was now joined by Alphonse.

"Take the road that heads east out of the city," he told Jet. "It should take you straight to Odense. While still in the city, I suggest you take the back roads, the Nazis usually don't patrol those roads even though people travel them frequently." He held out his hand to Jet who took it and gripped it hard in a farewell handshake. "Good Luck, Jet." He turned to the others in the truck. "And to you, Zuko and Longshot. May you have a safe journey and live to sea Germany in its rightful place in the world; free of Hitler's reign."

Waving one last goodbye, Jet waved at the young Resistance leader and rolled up his window. Taking his foot off the break, he turned the truck around and drove out of the parking garage.

Taking Alphonse's advice, Jet kept to the back roads until he came to the edge of the city and turned onto the road that headed east out of Berlin. They were stopped only once at the edge of the city by Nazi guardsmen and surprisingly got through without any problems.

Finally, they were out of Berlin and on a sure path to Denmark. Zuko rolled down his window when Berlin was out of sight and let the cool, fresh air blow against his face. It felt good to have the air touch his burned skin for the first time in weeks. His back no longer needed bandages, but after a while, his face would. After two hours of driving with the window down, he felt a nudge on his shoulder and turned to see Longshot staring disapprovingly at him. Somehow understanding, Zuko rolled the window back up and turned to face the sniper. Longshot reached into a bag he had brought with him and pulled out more cotton bandages which he used to wrap the German's burn. When he finished, Zuko turned back to look out the window at the countryside flying past him.

With a car, their trip would be shortened by several days. By the end of tomorrow, they would have crossed safely into Denmark and on their way to Copenhagen. Zuko rested his head against the headrest of his seat and closed his eyes. He could not wait to see the free city for the first time in his life.

And then after that, Katara.

**A/N: Okay, I'm sorry if the part with Sokka's point of view is not exactly like Sokka, but I tried, I really did! Hopefully we'll get more funny Sokka later on. I will try, I swear! D:**

**Sorry for a terrible ending to the chapter but I just go soooo sick of this chapter I just wanted to end it. So there you go, bad ending to a VERY long chapter.**

**Oh, and those German pancakes; REALLY delicious with applesauce! I had them at Big Bear lake in California. Yummmmm! P:**

**Review, plz!**


	15. 15 Crossing

**A/N: Okay, this chapter is freakishly short, I know. But bare with me, please? **

**Wooo! Two more chapters after this and then I'm done! Yeah! XD I think the last few chapters are going to be rather short, oh well...**

Chapter 15—Crossing

The ferry cut smoothly through the waves of the channel to Copenhagen. Zuko sat in the driver's seat of the truck they had brought on board with them and glanced at his burn in the mirror. As he removed the bandages, he saw that the burn had begun to scab, making it possible to no longer wear the cotton gauze around his head. He was happy for the freedom his face was allowed and marveled in how wonderful it felt to feel fresh air on his face.

Getting out of the anchored truck, the German tossed the dirty bandages in a waist basket near the pilot house of the ferry and walked over to Jet and Longshot who stood leaning against the railing at the forward end of the boat. When he approached the two Russians, he stood next to Jet and mimicked the two of them. He stared down at the blue waves that crashed onto the hull and immediately turned into white foam. Zuko savored the feel of the cool sea breeze and the cold salt water on his skin. He stole a glance at the two Russians he was traveling with. Neither one of them turned to look back at him; both of them staring out into the vast ocean just as he had been doing.

Two more days, two more days and he would be able to see Katara once again. Zuko's heart ached with anticipation and impatience. He wanted to reach Sweden now; he wanted to see Katara now. He just could not wait until the day he could hold her in his arms again.

Inclining his head to the side in order to look at the two Russians he stood beside him, Zuko decided to strike up conversation. "So what are we going to do with the truck when we get to Helsingor?"

Jet did not turn to answer him right away, but stared long and hard at the cool blue waves crashing up against the side of the ferry. For a moment, Zuko thought that the Russian was not going to answer his question and ignore him altogether until Jet finally turned his head to the side and stared at the German. "Sell it," he said bluntly. "When we get to Copenhagen, we'll sell the truck and take the train up to Helsingor. I'm sure the good people up north have not the time or money to buy a truck such as that one. Besides, we cannot take it to Sweden with us; it cannot come on the fishing boat with us."

"We're taking a fishing boat to Sweden?" Zuko asked, obviously confused.

Jet nodded and turned back to staring at the waves. "There is no ferry to take us across the ocean to another country. We either turn around and go around through Russia, or take a fishing boat."

Zuko pursed his lips at the thought of going back through Germany to Russia just to get to Sweden. Jet was right, the fastest was to get to Sweden was to get in illegally by way of fishing boat. The three travelers were silent for the remainder of the ferry ride, spending most of their time at the bow of the ship. Zuko marveled in the new and yet familiar feeling of the sea breeze on his face. He enjoyed the feeling his face had from being free of his bandages. A few times, he left the bow and went aft to the stern to stare back the way they had come. He smiled at the distance he had put between him and his messed up country. The Fuehrer would not be happy that he who knew so many secrets about Hitler's plans had betrayed Nazi Germany and was now on his way to Sweden before heading for Russia to give Joseph Stalin all the information he knew. It was time to end this war, end it once and for all for the sake of those whose lives had been so terrible affected by Hitler's "New World Order".

By the time he returned after his fourth time to the aft part of the ferry, Zuko arrived at the bow to see the Copenhagen Port looming closer and closer. Within minutes, the ferry had arrived in port and was ready to dock. After another ten minutes, the ferry had docked successfully and Jet, Zuko, and Longshot were climbing into the truck to drive it off the ferry onto the dock. Once the ramp was lowered, Jet started up the engine and drove the gray truck down the ramp onto the concrete docks and into the large city. It did not take long for them to find someone to purchase their truck. Once they exchanged the truck for the money, the three of them took their bags and set off for the train station. They only used a quarter of the money they got from the truck to purchase their tickets.

Zuko sat on the wooden bench awaiting the arrival of the train that would take them to Helsingor. Jet and Longshot had run off to find someplace to eat lunch, leaving Zuko alone to guard their baggage. He sat with all their bags surrounding him with his own pack on his lap. He listened intently to the announcer over the loudspeaker, waiting for the voice to announce the arrival of their train. He was so engulfed in the sound of the loudspeaker that he almost did not noticed a little girl walk up to him and stare at him curiously. It was her voice that brought him back to the world around him.

"Mister, what's wrong with your face?"

Startled, Zuko glanced around the station in search of the voice he had heard. A few faces were staring at him oddly, but he was used to it. Several weeks wearing thick bandages around his skull would definitely invite odd stares.

Finally, the German glanced down by his knees to see a small girl with long dark hair tied back in a ponytail. She had a look of fascination on her face as she stared up at Zuko with intense curiosity. He smiled gently down at her, hoping to make his ugly disfiguration look more normal. "It's a burn, little one," he answered. "A fire left this mark on my face."

The little girl's mouth opened in a silent "oh" when a woman from near the tracks came running up them and grabbed the girl's hand.

"Rachel, what have I told you?" the woman scolded. "It is not nice to bother strangers. Leave the poor man alone."

Zuko looked up to see that the woman had a striking resemblance to the little girl in question. He assumed that this woman was the girl's mother.

"It's okay, ma'am," he told her. "I was not bothered at all." It was a lie and he knew it. Zuko was a terrible liar, but the woman somehow seemed to believe him.

"Nevertheless, I do apologize for my daughter," the woman replied. "She sometimes does not know when to—" The woman stopped immediately once she saw the scar on Zuko's face. "Oh my," she gasped.

The German let out an awkward chuckle. "It's quite alright," he assured her. "It was an accident a long time ago; an oil lamp accident when I was a child." Definitely a lie this time; an injury from childhood would not still have scabs that needed healing.

Nodding, the woman pulled slightly on her daughter's hand, dragging her off back to their position near the tracks. The little girl named Rachel continued to stare after him even while her mother was dragging her off. He smiled back at her, making her yelp with embarrassment and turn her head away to hide in her mother's skirts.

After that, Zuko was not bothered again. It was not until half an hour later that Jet and Longshot returned with their lunch. The three of them ate in silence as they waited for their train to arrive. They sat and waited for at least two hours before the train finally came. The train stopped just in front of them and as the doors opened, many people came spilling out. A few minutes later, they were able to board and found themselves a nice compartment near the rear of the train. Closer, they were closer to arriving in Sweden every day. And now that they could travel freely, they were able to get closer every hour.

---

Katara stood, leaning against the railing of the small fishing vessel they had boarded not two hours earlier. She sighed for the hundredth time since coming aboard the boat and wrapped her arms tightly around her body for added warmth. She widened her eyes with surprise when a thick blanket was suddenly draped over her shoulders and a strong hand rested upon her upper back.

"The wind can be chilling sometimes," a voice said to her as the young, fisherman's son came and stood beside her, mimicking her leaning against the rail. "You should have taken a blanket with you when you came up from below deck."

Katara smiled sheepishly as she gripped the blanket and pulled it tight around her body. "Thank you, Haru," she said. "That was very thoughtful of you."

Haru beamed and turned to face the waves that skipped passed the hull of the vessel. Both of them faced east and squinted their eyes at the still rising sun. At six in the morning, the sun had already slipped completely into few passed the horizon and appeared to hover just a few feet off the surface of the water.

"You have beautiful sunrises up here," the gipsy girl commented, attempting to make small talk with the young man who stood next to her.

Haru smiled smugly and nodded his agreement. "That we do. It is quite enjoyable to see the sun rise over the water every morning." He let out a slight chuckle. "It is also part of the reason I chose to accompany my father on his fishing trips."

Katara turned to stare at the young fisherman. "You mean you chose to become a fisherman?" she asked, perplexed.

He nodded and Katara could see the light from the waves reflecting in his brown eyes giving the illusion that they danced with happiness. "I was born into the life of a fisherman but my father always told me that I could choose to travel to Copenhagen and attend a good school. He told me that I could get a good education, become a lawyer, an accountant, I could be somebody." He laughed at the notion. "But those professions never seemed to interest me. I've always been fascinated by the sea. Just as the earth holds its secrets, so too, does the ocean, but the depths of the sea have always been inaccessible to man for centuries."

The gypsy raised an eyebrow at Haru's statement. "And how does being a fisherman work its way into all this?" she asked.

He glanced at her briefly before turning back to look out over the water. "Aside from its mysteries, the ocean holds adventure for those who travel its surface. Leading a life behind a boring desk was never for me. I told my father that I wished to live a life with excitement, something with danger around every corner. When I told him that, he laughed heartily and said 'My son, you have chosen the right profession. Follow me to the boats and we'll begin your training.' I was only twelve years old at the time but every day after that; he and I have manned this boat soundly. I still have no wish to leave."

"Wow," was all Katara was able to get out when Haru finished his story. She had not meant for him to give her his whole life story when she had asked if he had chosen to be a fisherman or not, but that was what she got. Finally, after quite some time of silence with only the sound of crashing waves and Aang's soft voice leading Toph around the ship in the background, did Katara finally find her voice again. "I don't think I would ever be able to do what you and your father do every day."

Haru seemed confused by her statement. "But you're a gypsy," he started. "Don't you travel around all the time?"

She nodded. "We do, but we don't get up before the break of dawn every day and we certainly don't spend all our days out on boats catching fish and stuffing their dead carcasses in the holds." She smiled sarcastically up at Haru who smiled in return.

"I guess I deserved that one," he said in defeat.

Katara chuckled. "Yes, you did."

There was another silence for a moment before Haru spoke up again. "So, that woman…" He paused for a moment, as if the thought of the person in question was shocking. "Smellerbee, she says that your group got separated. Is this true?"

Her face became grave at the mention of their separated group. She sighed before nodding and staring back out to the blue waves. She missed Zuko with all her heart and hoped desperately that he had survives Auschwitz and was on his way to meet her as they spoke. She also wondered if he had suffered the same as Suki. Had his strong, muscular physique been diminished to just skin and bone? Or was he still the same man he had been when she first saw him standing at the entrance to that room with his rifle in hand staring dumbstruck at her and her brother perched on the uncomfortable cot? All these thoughts and more raced through her head as she stared out over the water. She must have been in a daze for quite some time because Haru's voice suddenly became imminent to her and he sounded a bit worried.

"You seem distraught," he said concerned. "Who was it exactly that got separated from you and your friends?"

She did not answer right away, but remained silent, wondering if she even wanted to talk about the subject at all. Deciding that it would do her more harm than good to not say anything at all, she spilled everything she knew.

"His name is Zuko," she said. "He was a German soldier who saved my brother and I from the clutches of the Nazi concentration camps. He also helped us free our friend Suki from Auschwitz, but that was where he got captured." Her voice grew thick with anger when she spoke the next part of the story. "My brother was the one who betrayed him. Sokka had never trusted him and because of that distrust, he handed Zuko over to those whom he had betrayed to help us. It was painful to see him being led off to his terrible fate, but there was nothing I could do." One tear fell from her eyes as she talked, but she quickly wiped it away and pretended it had never been there.

Haru noticed the tear and caught on to her feelings right away. "You love him," he said. It was more a statement than a question. "And your brother, your love for him forces you to forgive him but you feel as if you are betraying Zuko if you do."

Katara was speechless at how well Haru had summed up all her mixed feelings into two sentences when she had had a hard time trying to fit them all into one paragraph. She opened and closed her mouth trying in vain to find something to say. Finally, she clamped her mouth shut and turned away from the young fisherman.

"I guess you're right," she said after a long moment of silence. She felt the warmth of his fingers begin to sneak their way over her own and she gasped, turning suddenly to see what was happening for herself. Sure enough, his hand had found its place atop of hers as it rested on the rail. She felt her cheeks grow warm and looked up at Haru. He was not looking at her but staring off into the ocean as if deep in thought.

Katara was about to comment on his hand being there, but they were interrupted by Haru's father calling him over to help him with on-deck chores that he could not do while manning the wheel. The gypsy was glad for his absence; it gave her a moment to think over what he had told her and his slight actions towards her. She did not know what to think about his small advances. She did not love Haru. But something about the way he acknowledged her presence made her feel happy. He was smart, he was strong, and he was handsome. He was everything she loved and more.

But he was not Zuko.

She no longer wished to dwell on the topic and attempted to push the confusing thoughts from her mind. She was saved from the thoughts returning by her brother stumbling as if drunk next to her and leaned against the railing. His face had a hint of green to it from what she was able to see of it before Sokka leaned his torso over the side of the railing and puked up his guts into the water with an unpleasant gurgling noise. He groaned and mumbled something that sounded like "Should not have eaten those pancakes this morning" when he raised his head up, a hand still on the railing to keep himself from collapsing on the deck as his other hand clutched his stomach.

Katara's own stomach churned at the sight of him but she ignored it and placed a wry smile on her face.

"Seasick, Sokka?" she asked mockingly. He glared at her in return before lurching for a second time and throwing up over the side.

"Oh shut it, sis," he groaned. Sokka managed to lower himself to the deck and sit cross-legged in close proximity to the edge of the boat. "And just for the record," he added. "This never happened."

Katara's grin grew wider. "Never happened to whom, exactly?"

Sokka rolled his eyes and suppressed another queasy lurch. "Just don't tell Suki, okay?" he demanded. "I've been avoiding her like the plague ever since we boarded. It's pretty hard to do on such a small boat."

His sister let out a hearty laugh. "Well, it looks as if Karma is catching up with you."

Sokka growled at her before lurching once again and hurling over the side. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he muttered angrily to himself. "Well, at lease my situation can't get much worse than seasickness, can it?"

Just as he said it, a white, and rather large, bird dropping splattered on the top of his head and dribbled down his forehead to the tip of his nose. Katara burst out laughing, pointing at her brother and making a mockery of him. Aang and Toph came round the side of the pilot house to question Katara's sudden joyous laughter, and to Sokka's great dismay, so did Suki.

"What's going on?" Aang asked as the three of them approached the siblings by the railing.

Katara managed to stop her incessant laughter long enough to tell the teenager what had happened. "Sokka started complaining about his seasickness and as soon as he said that things couldn't get much worse, a seagull pooped all over his face!" She then doubled over, her mirth made all the others join in the hilarity.

"Aw man!" Toph complained. "Of all the times to _not _be able to see!" She crossed her arms in disappointment but soon joined in the laughter with everyone else. She may be blind, but she had the iron stomach of an ox.

Sokka did not find his situation hilarious, however and tried suppress his need to throw up over the side of the boat. He managed to get to a somewhat standing position before his stomach lurched for the tenth time that day and vomited over the side once again. He grabbed the blanket Haru had draped over his sister's shoulders and used it to wipe what he could of the bird poop off his face before handing it back to Katara.

"Oh, yuck!" Katara exclaimed in disgust. "I don't want it back! Keep it and use it to wipe the remains of your vomit of your face."

At that point, Suki had stopped laughing and had walked over to her boyfriend standing with wobbling knees against the railing and tried to hold him up, a large smile still plastered across her face.

"Jeez, Sokka," she said as she allowed him to lean on her shoulder. "My health is worse than yours and yet you're the one who is seasick. It seems we have traded places."

"Yeah, even _I'm _fine," Toph added in. "Though Aang could stand to have his feet on firm ground again. I sense he's felt better on other occasions."

"What?" Aang started, sounding affronted. "I feel fine!"

Katara smirked at the teenager's attempt to defend himself. "Toph has a point, Aang," she agreed. "You do look more pale than you have before."

Aang pouted in annoyance but it was obvious it was taking everything in him to make sure he also did not vomit. Sokka meanwhile had managed to take a few steps without hurling with the help of Suki and decided he wanted final say in the conversation.

"What about me, guys?" he asked angrily. "What can we do about my seasickness?"

Toph shrugged. "Nothing that I know of can help aside from letting it run its course." At his disheartened grumble, she added "Sorry."

Suki shifted Sokka's weight on her shoulder. "Can someone help me?" she asked. "I want to take him to the back where he can vomit without getting it all over the side of the boat but I need help to carry him."

"I'll help," Aang piped up and rushed to take the gypsy's other arm and wrapped if around his shoulder much like Suki had. The three then turned around and marched aft to let Sokka throw up without leaving vomit stains on the side of the boat.

The rest of the trip across the ocean was quite uneventful. Smellerbee, Pipsqueak, and The Duke mainly busied themselves with helping Haru and his father man the boat while the rest of them saw fit to relax or, in Sokka's case, try to overcome his need to hurl every ten minutes. Suki and Aang remained aft with the sick man while Katara went below deck to grab a small bite to eat now and then. Toph had a harder time finding her way around the ship than she could when she was on solid ground and kept near Katara as much as she could. Mostly Katara spent her time on the deck, staring out at the vast body of water. She knew it was more like a small lake compared to the Atlantic, but she still could not help but be fascinated by the sheer size of it.

It was an hour passed midday when they docked on the shores of Sweden. Haru had prepared a small life boat to carry the group across the small stretch of ocean that separated the fishing boat from the beach. The draft of the fishing boat would not allow it to dock directly on the beach.

Sokka, Suki, Smellerbee and The Duke went across on the life boat first while Haru rowed them ashore. When he returned he helped Pipsqueak, Aang, Toph and Katara into the boat before settling himself into the boat last. He rowed them ashore in silence. When they came ashore, Haru helped Katara off the boat last and when he did, his hand lingered over hers for only a moment before he let her go.

"You know," he started as he splashed his feet in the water to push the small boat back out to the sea. "You won't betray Zuko if you forgive your brother."

The gypsy stared at him. Had he been thinking about that conversation all morning? "Excuse me?"

The young fisherman nodded towards Katara's brother who had been so exuberant about standing on firm ground again that he had completely immersed himself in the sand, bending down and kissing it as well as tossing it in the air and burying himself in it; a satisfied smile on his face. "I've seen how you act with him. You have already forgiven him but have not told him yet. Tell him, you will feel a lot better inside."

Katara gaped at him but did not say anything. Haru then waved a goodbye and pushed the small life boat into the water.

"A family friend of ours will be waiting for you at the top of the hill," he said as he rowed away. "Take the path up the side of the cliff and she will be waiting for you in a small cottage." He then turned and faced his father's fishing boat and was soon gone.

Katara turned around to face the cliff that stood tall against the sandy beach. Today was the start of a whole new life for her. She was both scared and excited and smiled as she and the others left the beach to meet their new caretaker.

**A/N: Wait, what? Sokka's seasick? That's new. I realize that in the actual show, there would be no way that Sokka would get seasick and Toph would be in his place, but keep in mind that this is an Alternate Universe and Sokka is a gypsy. I think that gypsies travel mostly by land and not that much by sea (although how the hell would I know? I'm not a gypsy, but my friend is, how strange). I made him seasick cause I thought it would be funny, let me now if I succeeded, would you? Thanks.**

**You will have to pardon my poor explanation of Sokka's seasickness. I have never been seasick myself nor have I seen anyone get seasick so I do not really know what getting seasick is like. What I am portraying is things I've seen in movies or read about. Although I do hear that being seasick is not fun (my dad gets terribly seasick ;) ).**

**Review Please! :)**


	16. 16 Reunion

**A/N: Next, the epologue and then we're done. Isn't this exciting? It's the longest story I have EVER written. EVER!!!!**

Chapter 16—Reunion

Zuko studied the small fishing vessel with great criticism. This was the boat that was to take them across the channel to Sweden? The German sneered to himself, hoping the owners of the boat did not see his disgusted face as they bustled about the deck, preparing the boat for launch. The fishing boat was old and rusted, the paint on the hull was cracked and peeling off in areas. Its name, the _Singing Arrow_, was faded and a few letters were completely unreadable from years of water and wind beating up against its metal hull.

A large hand found a resting place on his shoulder and Zuko turned his head to see Jet standing to his right and slightly behind him, a large grin on his face.

"Well, there you are, Brandt," he said ecstatically. "The last obstacle you will have to face before you see your girl again."

The German frowned at the Russian. "Obstacle?" he queried. "What are you talking about?"

Jet removed his hand from Zuko's shoulder and turned to face him. "The ocean, my good friend, the ocean." He walked towards the dock. Zuko followed him. Friend? The German was pretty sure Jet did not think of him as anything less that the dirt under the soles of his boots. "The sea can be as unrelenting as your former Nazi brethren."

Zuko chose to ignore the small, insulting comment and kept pace with the man in front of him. As they approached the small vessel, he saw Longshot silently but respectfully helping the two fisherman load supplies onto the boat before they launched. He then glanced out over the water to see the small stretch of land faded in the distance that was Sweden. Katara was there, so close to him and yet so far away from him. His heart beat quickly with the anticipation of seeing her again. How long had it been since last he saw her? A week? Two Weeks? A month? It had been so long he had lost track of all time and to him, it had felt like thirty years since the night at the festival when he had kissed her soft lips for the first time. He longed to do it once again, passionately, lovingly, even in front of her brother, Sokka. He was willing to give up everything he knew just to be with her. He loved her that much.

These long weeks apart from Katara gave Zuko time to think. He knew what he wanted and he knew how to get it. He wanted Katara to spend the rest of her life with him and his with her, and he wanted the war to be over. He wanted Nazi Germany to fall and Adolf Hitler to see his last sunrise, to breathe his last breath. The world had already suffered greatly from his rise to power, including those of Hitler's home country, Austria. The man was a hypocrite, and a massive one at that. Aryans as the dominant race? The man wasn't even Aryan himself! He had brown hair and, though Zuko never bothered to check and was not even certain, had brown eyes as well. How was it that he managed to convince all these people to follow him if he was the biggest hypocrite of all time? Not to mention the most obvious. It was a complete mystery to Zuko but one he did not wish to see an answer to. Instead, he wanted to put an end to all of it. Never mind solving the mystery, just get rid of the problem all together. That had been the only solution he had come up with but it was one he rather liked.

He glanced back at the old fishing boat and carefully calculated how long it would take to ferry them across the channel to the other country. If his calculations were correct, it would take close to half a day to get there. He sighed. That all seemed too long to him; he was impatient.

At the sound of his name being called from the bow of the fishing vessel, Zuko was jarred from his thoughts. He ran down the wooden dock, his booted feet making small thumping sounds as he neared the boat. When he arrived, Jet motioned for him to board. When he arrived on board the _Singing Arrow_, the younger of the two fisherman, a young man around his age named Haru, greeted him and led him down below deck to a small chamber with a little faded couch, several charts, a table, a coffee machine, papers with many calculations written on them and a small chest Zuko assumed had the fisherman's meals inside.

"Sorry for the mess," Haru apologized. "One of the last passengers we had yesterday got terribly seasick and threw up on the couch. My father and I had a heck of a time trying to clean it up."

Zuko rounded on the young man in ecstatic hope. "Who was in that group from yesterday?" he asked with excited anxiety. From all the time they had gained after Alphonse had given them one of his cars for transportation, it was quite possible that they were only a day behind Katara and the rest of them.

Haru looked taken aback at the German's sudden outburst but answered nonetheless. "A few Russians who helped us on the way to Sweden, a couple Jews, I think one was blind, and two gypsies, a brother and a sister." The young fisherman turned to pour himself a cup of coffee. "Why?" he asked. "What does it matter to you?"

Zuko's eyes widened in disbelief. Katara had been here, in this very room, and she was only a day ahead of him. He was close, so close he almost expected to see her walking down the stairs to the very room he was in from above deck. It was only a fantasy, but one that was so very close to being real. "I just, um…" He trailed off, not sure what to say. "They're friends of mine," he said finally. Haru raised an eyebrow at the German but otherwise said nothing about his strange reaction.

"Well, I better get up top," the young fisherman said, setting his half empty cup of coffee down on the table next to the coffee machine. "You can have the rest of that if you wish," he said gesturing to the cup he left. "I don't really like coffee anyway." He then turned and ran back up the stairwell to help his father prepare for the launch.

Zuko sat down on the old, worn couch and stared absentmindedly at the unfinished cup of coffee on the table. Katara was here, she was right here, and he missed her by no longer than a single day. He smiled to himself. They were going to see each other today, he was sure of it.

Leaning back against the couch, he took the coffee from the table and downed the rest of it in one gulp.

---

Katara left the small cottage they were staying at and walked across the grass-covered meadow to the edge of the cliff overlooking the beach and vast waters of the sea. She grasped the edges of a blanket that was wrapped around her shoulders like a shawl. The purple gypsy dress she had worn at the beginning of her travels billowed around her legs from the wind as she walked.

They had been at the cottage in Sweden for only a day and already Smellerbee, The Duke, and Pipsqueak had left for Russia. Only she, Sokka, Toph, Suki and Aang remained at the cottage. The owner of the small cottage did not live with them, but lived in an apartment in the city nearby. When she had left them at the cottage the day before, she had told them that she would come and check up on them once a month. She would bring with her food and other such supplies the group needed when it was necessary and if they needed anything, all they had to do was pick up the telephone and call her. Her number was written on a piece of paper next to the telephone.

The young gypsy was alone when she neared the cliff side. She had come here the day before after they had settled into their new home to watch the waters for any sign of Zuko. She had waited there, her feet dangling over the edge, until night had fallen and her brother had to come out and get her. Katara had been disheartened when Zuko did not show but told herself that it had only been half a day. Surely he would come soon.

Today, she did the same thing she had the day before. Having just eaten a late breakfast, she made her way out to the cliff and sat down, her fingers absentmindedly pulling up blades of grass as she stared out over the ocean. She could see Haru and his father's fishing boat making its way to the middle of the sea for their fishing as well as many others. In Helsingor, fishing was competitive. There were so many fisherman and so few clients to sell the fruits of their labor to.

She had not been sitting long when she heard her brother's voice sound from behind her. "Katara?" He asked her name as if he were afraid she would not answer him.

She turned around. "Yes?" she asked.

He seemed nervous, unsure of what to say. He scratched the back of his neck in thought. "I…I am sorry for what I did in Auschwitz," he began. Katara raised an eyebrow. After all this time after that incident, he finally decided to apologize? "I was so blinded by who Zuko used to be I could not see who he really was. I'm sorry, truly, I am."

Katara stood up and walked over to her brother. She placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. He flinched, thinking she was going to cause some bodily harm to him. Instead, she pulled him forward towards her and wrapped her arms around his shoulders in a warm embrace.

"I forgive you, Sokka," she said after she released him from the hug. "I had forgiven you a long time ago. I just couldn't bring myself to tell you until now."

He looked at her in a brief moment of shock. "And I have regretted my actions since the moment we saw the Nazis dragging Zuko through the camp. I'm so sorry, Katara. I know how much he means to you."

She smiled at him and turned back to face the edge of the cliff again. Strange, Haru's fishing boat was getting awfully close to shore. "I'm still angry at you for what you did," she said absently. She was too curious about the boat to pay attention to her words. "But that does not mean that I don't forgive you." She heard her brother sigh with relief behind her but she paid no attention to him. The fishing boat had now stopped where it had the day before when it dropped off her and her friends and a long boat was being lowered into the water.

She ignored Sokka as he continued to talk as if she were listening, but Katara was too interested in what was happening down at the beach to pay any attention to him. Edging closer to the cliff, she squinted her eyes in the sunlight to see the unmistakable outline of Haru in the long boat with three others. Could it be? How was it possible?

Ignoring all instincts to stay on the cliff and wait to see who it was in the boat, Katara bolted from her place near the edge of the cliff and ran for the steps carved into the rock at the side of the cliff a few hundred meters south of the landing area on the beach. She could hear Sokka yelling for her, asking her what she was doing and where she was going but he knew the answer to that. To the beach, where else?

More voices joined her brothers and she assumed Toph, Suki and Aang had emerged from the cottage and were running after her just as her brother was. She did not hear what they were saying and she did not care. Zuko was coming, she knew it. He was rowing towards the beach at that very moment. As she bolted down the stone steps, her brother, Aang and Toph followed, not knowing what was going on. Katara's heart beat rapidly against her chest with anticipation. Her thighs burned from running down the stairs and her calves hurt from the effort of sprinting across the sand. She could see them, see the boat beach up on the sand and the four men climb out. She recognized Jet and Haru right away. Longshot was not hard to distinguish either but the man who she assumed was Zuko looked quite a bit different than what she had remembered. He was thinner, his skin pale and the bones in his fingers more distinguished. He had his back to her but there was no mistaking the matted brown hair that covered his head. It was Zuko. He was here, he was safe.

He came back for her.

Her legs seemed to lose all momentum when she neared the group by the boat. Stopping her running, she stood in the sand, the fine grains filling the empty gaps in her shoes as her toes buried themselves in the coarse material. She had long since abandoned the blanket she had earlier and felt the sudden chill of the ocean air as it nipped at the back of her neck and passed easily through her thin dress.

Without even thinking, without even knowing what else to say, she yelled out his name. "Zuko!"

At the sound of his name, he turned around to face her. She gasped when she saw his face. It was horribly disfigured from a scar that covered his left eye and stretched all the way back to his ear. His time in Auschwitz had really done a number on him, and not just on his health, but his appearance as well. What had he endured that gave him a scar such as the one he sported now? She did not know but she did come to realize that it made him strangely rugged and handsome. He was not the same, charmingly handsome man who had saved her from getting rapped by an ugly old coot in Poland, but the scar did seem to suit him. It matched him, it made him Zuko.

The German stared at her in shocked disbelief when he laid eyes on her. Is wide eyes soon narrowed in a joyous smile as he walked across the sand towards her. The anticipation was killing her. She wanted to hold him now, she wanted to feel his strong arms wrap around her shoulders in a tight embrace and have him never let go. She ran for him and jumped into his arms. He held tightly, leaning back to compensate for her sudden weight against his. Her eyes welled with tears of joy when he spoke her name.

"Katara, I missed you so much."

"I missed you too," she said in return. He set her down on the sand and let her look up at him. "I thought you would be executed when they caught you."

He shook head. "No, my sister would torture me into insanity before she had me executed. That is her way."

Katara was perplexed. "Your sister?"

Zuko nodded. "She was warden at Auschwitz. It's because of her I am still alive and am able to see you once again."

Her hands went to his face and felt the scar that covered half the skin on his face. He flinched from her touch but did not pull away. Instead, he closed his eyes and let her feel the wound that would forever stay with him. It was a mark of his past and the people he left behind to start over.

"Did your sister give you this as well?" Katara asked.

He grabbed her hands and pulled them away from his face. "Yes," was all he said before he saw Sokka and the others run up behind Katara, stopping to catch their breath. Katara could see the anger in Zuko's face when he laid eyes on her brother behind her. Releasing her, he stepped passed her and stalked up to Sokka. She watched as her brother stood up straight and squared his shoulders to face the German just as Zuko drew his fist back and punched the gypsy as hard as he could across the face. She gasped in shock as Sokka stumbled and fell to the ground, his hand covering his face as he gasped and cried out in pain. He coughed a few times before regaining his baring and looking up Zuko. Katara could only assume he was staring at her brother with utmost malice hatred.

"I guess I deserved that," Sokka said with acceptance and defeat as he attempting to stand. Katara watched as Zuko clenched his fists in anger for only a short moment and then relaxed them and crossed his arms across his chest.

"Yes," he said, anger in his voice. "You did deserve that. You turned me over to my sister and left me to rot in that hell hole for near two whole weeks! Look!" he cried, pointing to his face. "Look what I sustained because of you!" He paused only to turn around and pull up the back of his shirt, exposing his back to the four he addressed. Katara walked over to see what he was showing them.

She gasped in horror at what she saw. Scars, long, thin gash marks covered his entire back. Scar tissue had just begun to grow over the wounds creating long, thick train tracks across his back. What on earth had he done to deserve such torture?

"Look what I had to endure just to survive in there! My sister, my own twin sister was the one to take whip in hand, chain me to the wall and slash open the flesh on my back!" He lowered his shirt again and turned to face Sokka who had slumped back down on the sand. "This scar on my face is a permanent reminder that my family will never think twice about murdering me. My sister smashed an oil lamp in my face as we were escaping. She chained me to the wall everyday while I was there and whipped me relentlessly until I was too weak to move or fell unconscious." He stopped for only a moment to catch his breath before continuing. "I have endured far worse things that you will ever know. I just cannot see how you could bring yourself to condemn a man to such torment."

His voice had relaxed by the end of his rant. Katara felt overwhelming sadness for the man she loved. What had he been through? She dared not ask but walked up beside him and took his hand in hers. She smiled up at him when he looked at her and to her surprise, he bent his head low and rested his forehead on her shoulder, his shoulders shaking as if her were crying but no sobs could be heard from him.

Katara lifted his head and made him look at her. Without even caring about who was watching, she kissed his lips softly to let him know that there were people who cared for him. He would not be hated the rest of his life.

When she pulled back, there was a long silence before Zuko said four words that made her heard skip in her chest. "I love you, Katara."

"And I you," she said in return.

"Well isn't that sweet," Toph said sarcastically. Everyone turned to look at her, Katara growled. "A touching reunion that you seeing people might get a kick out of, but really, what's in it for me?" She turned to Aang who stood next to her. "Do you think we could ever get action like that, Twinkletoes?"

She was completely sarcastic, everyone knew that, but Aang still blushed bright red when she said it.

By now, Sokka had gotten to his feet and a large bruise was beginning to show along his jaw line and Jet and Longshot had arrived next to the group completely unaware of what had just occurred aside from the yelling they had heard earlier. Haru was already rowing the long boat back to the _Singing Arrow_ and had missed the whole thing.

"Well, let's not lollygag around on the beach," Jet began, ordering the rest of them up on their feet. "Let's get up to that cottage. We've stories to exchange."

Katara smiled when Zuko took her hand. They walked together up the stairs carved into the stone and Sokka even let him leave his things in Katara's room when they arrived at the cottage. Since their group had grown, the small cottage that had comfortably housed just the five of them now was cramped and crowded. That night, Jet and Sokka made a large fire by the cliff and cooked dinner outside. They all ate around the fire and stayed up until well passed the fall of night talking and telling stories.

Katara smiled all night. For the first time since the beginning of her journey, she was truly happy.

**A/N: Yeah, kinda gets a bit cheesy towards the end cause I go treally lazy. To be honest, I'm a little sick of this story. At least it's almost over. Hope you liked.**

**Review please! =D**


	17. Epilogue: It Was Only a Dream

**A/N: FINALLY!!! It is finished!! My God, this was the longest story I have ever written! And I thought eleven chapters was a long story. Check it out! 17!!!! XD**

**Enjoy!**

Epilogue—It Was Only a Dream

He was being whipped again. The searing pain from the end of the leather whip biting into his skin erupted malevolently all over his back. Zuko's screeches could be heard from all across Auschwitz as Azula punished him for the fifth time since he had arrived there. He had tried to escape for the second time, and for the second time, got caught. The first time his sister burned his face with an oil lamp and this time, his punishment was for to be flogged until he could no longer move or speak.

Zuko tried bravely not to cry out in pain but the combined pain from the old and inflamed wounds and the new injuries was enough to make him collapse unconscious. He did not and concentrated all his efforts to clinging to consciousness as best he could.

Finally, after what seemed like ages, Azula's incessant flogging ceased and he was able to breathe a sigh of relief from the short break.

"You should know not to attempt to escape, brother," she told him.

He stiffly turned his head to look at her. "I know," he replied angrily. "That does not mean that I will ever stop."

Her eyebrows knitted together and fury. "You will _never _leave this facility until I send you to your execution!" Drawing back her arm, she flew the whip at him once again. He felt his flesh getting torn from his bones and he screamed in agony. He should have known better than to talk smartly to his sister, but he just could not help himself. She just walked right into every trap.

When she finally stopped once again, he was teetering on the edge of unconsciousness. Zuko could just barely make out what Azula was saying to the guards who took him down from his shackles.

"Take him down to the scientists. I'm sure they would be delighted to have a new experiment to work on."

The German was too weak and feeble to fight back against the tall, strong guards who dragged him from his cell. He knew where they were taking him and dreaded every moment of the way there. As blurry as his vision was, he could still tell where he was. First he was outside in the cool, fresh air. He marveled in the feel of the cool breeze on his bloody cheeks but was soon cut off by the guards taking him inside another building. Zuko's feet stumbled and tripped frequently from the struggle to keep up with the pace of his escorts. He could feel himself stumble when they arrived at the top of a flight of stairs. As they descended it was all he could do to keep his body upright and not fall forward onto his face. When they finally stopped walking, he knew they had taken him underground.

He looked up to see a solid metal door open in front of him. As soon as it was completely open, he was dragged inside the dark room. Zuko thought he saw many shiny tools, some sharp, some blunt, others he had no idea what they were. They looked so strange to him. Before he could get a clearer look at them, his heart began to race with fear when he was grabbed by the shoulders and forced onto a cold, steel lab table and fastened tightly to it by thick, leather straps.

"No!" he cried out in horror and he began to struggle violently. A voice sounded from the shadows from a man Zuko could not see and the two guards roughly grabbed him and held him firmly to the table. When two sharp tools came into view, his struggles became more and more pronounced from the panic that was welling up inside him.

"Hold him tightly!" someone bellowed at the two guards as the sharp tools came closer and closer to his eyes. The guards did as they were told and Zuko shut his eyes tightly, hopping that the tools would just go away. He was disappointed to find that they did not when he felt the pointed tips of the tools attempt to pry his eyelids open. In a desperate attempt to keep the doctor at bay, he squeezed his lids tighter, but to no avail. His eyes were pried open and held there. He darted his irises around the room madly. He was surprisingly wide awake and aware of everything happening around him. He tried to yell again but a rough cloth was shoved into his mouth and all that came out was a muffle scream.

His eyes soon began to dry out and he vainly tried to blink but opened them quickly from the pain of the cold, metal tools holding his lids open. Suddenly, the sound of a circular saw could be heard from somewhere out of his line of vision and then a sharp searing pain erupted from his right hand. The pain was so intense he almost did not feel his skin being torn open and little sticks prodding curiously at the bones and tissue that held his hand together.

His jaw bit down hard on the cloth in his mouth and it was soon soaked clean through from his saliva. Some of it dribbled down his throat as he began to hyperventilate in a vain attempt to keep the pain at bay. Soon his left hand was cut open as by the circular saw and the bones, tissue, and muscle was prodded in that hand as well. His breathing increased as he constantly repeated the phrase "it's just a dream" in his head many times. The dryness of his eyes got to him as soon as his first hand was torn open. His eyes felt like sandpaper and every effort to blink brought more and more pain upon him.

It was not until a long, flat, and sharp object Zuko thought might have been a sword or bayonet, did his will fail him and he blacked out.

---

Zuko sat bold upright in bed screaming at the top of his lungs. His body was drenched in sweat and he was breathing rapidly. He could still feel his heart pounding against his ribcage but it soon dissipated to merely a normal dull, quiet thump as he tried to bring his breathing under control. Glancing around the room, he saw the dark shapes of a dresser, a wooden rocking chair, a baby's cradle in the far corner of the room, and the slightly open door that led to the rest of the house from the large bedroom he was in. He looked down at the woman who lay next to him, her eyes open and staring up at him with concern.

It really had been a dream, Zuko was never taken underground to the doctor's lab for an experiment and his first attempt at escaping had been a success. Clutching his forehead, he rubbed his temples and lay back down on the pillow. His eyes wandered to the window where he could see white snow falling silently in the moonlit, Russian night.

"Another nightmare?" his wife asked him, worry in her voice.

He nodded. "Yes Katara," he replied. "It was another nightmare." He turned to look into her large, blue eyes. "I hope I didn't wake the baby with my screaming."

His gypsy wife rolled over to look at the cradle. "No, I think he's fine."

He sighed in relief. "That's good. I just wish these dreams would stop." He pulled the covers back over his bare shoulder and kissed Katara on the cheek. "I haven't had a decent night's sleep in quite some time."

"Not since the war ended. Almost every night I can here you moaning pleas in your sleep. Your nights are fitful and you usually always wake up screaming and sweaty." She paused and touched her hand to his face where the burn scar from the oil lamp still remained. "Do you think these nightmares will ever end?"

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I don't know, Katara. It seems with every dream, the next one feels even more realistic than the one before it." She removed her hand from his face and nestled deep into her pillow and as he watched, her breathing eased into a more comfortable rhythm that indicated she had fallen asleep. "Perhaps when I stop blaming myself for the death of millions, they will stop."

Nodded to that conclusion, he draped his arm around his wife's slender body and fell asleep to more peaceful and pleasant dreams.

---

The German walked up to his brother-in-law and shook his hand briskly. "Congratulations, Sokka!" he said happily. The Gypsy nodded once in thanks. The ceremony had been long, but it had been worth it. After his many triumphs in the Second World War in the Russian army, today he had been awarded the highest honor the country could bestow on him.

"Thank you, Zuko," he said in return. "You know, you could have been up there with me getting a medal. How come you decided not to join the Russian Army and fight against the Nazis?"

Zuko shrugged and wrapped his arm around Katara. He smiled at her and she returned his smile joyously. "Well, you know. After one military mess-up, I decided I was done with the Army. Plus I don't think I would have gotten along well with any of the soldiers here. You remember how Jet treated me?"

Sokka nodded his agreement. "Yeah, he really didn't like you, did he?" The three of them made their way through the crowd that had gathered for the after-party of Sokka's pinning ceremony. Many others came up to congratulate Sokka and it was not long until Suki came barreling thought the crowd to tackle her husband around the waist and knock him to the ground.

"I am so proud of you!" she cried out, kissing him many times over on the cheek. Sokka hugged his wife tightly as he attempted to sit up and regain at least a bit of his dignity. Toph and Aang came up behind Suki and laughed out loud at Sokka's misfortune. Toph was wearing a rather fancy dress Aang had picked out for her. She kept feeling her hands down the skirts and grumbling but otherwise kept her complaints about the dress to herself while Aang wore a plain black suit with a heavy winter coat draped over his shoulders.

"We're all proud of you," Aang piped up when they arrived.

When Sokka had finally managed to get back on his feet, he walked over to his sister and bent over the baby she held in her arms. "And how is my little nephew?" he asked, tickling the baby's nose with his index finger. The baby stretched and yawned without opening his eyes but otherwise was not aware of the man who stood over him.

"Young Adrian is quite the stubborn little boy," Katara answered with a smile on her face. "He's just like his father."

Zuko knew what she was referring to and blushed madly at the look on her face. The boy may look just like his mother, but in personality, he was just like Zuko. The event Katara had been referring to when she said Adrian was just like his father was the moment he and Katara had first met, when the rest of his life was changed forever. When he had refused to let Zhao rape the poor, defenseless gypsy girl they had come to imprison.

"Didn't he have a death grip on that cookie you caught him with?" Toph asked, staring blankly in front of her. She had a slight smirk on her face when she spoke. "I seem to remember him screaming Bloody Mary when you got it away from him."

Katara smiled. "That was the first tip I got telling me he was his father's son."

Suki sniggered. "I wish I could have a child like that," she said as she nudged Sokka in the ribs. "But mister seasick over here refuses to have kids, complaining that they'll just turn out to be little monsters."

Sokka frowned at his wife's statement. "That was one time and I'll have you know I have not been seasick since then!"

The whole group burst out laughing at Sokka's defiant face which quickly turned into one of embarrassment.

"That was priceless," Aang said through fits of laughter. "Remember when the bird pooped on his face? My stomach hurt for days after that."

Zuko chuckled quietly. He had been told the story several times the moment he had returned to the group in Sweden. He had laughed harder than he could ever remember laughing but he still wished he could have been there when it happened. It sounded like it would have been funnier if he had seen it in person. Glancing at Toph, he knew the young blind girl held his exact wishes. Not being able to see must feel like a curse sometimes.

"Hey, we should make our way over to the buffet table real soon," he heard Sokka say as he placed a hand to his stomach. "I could use some of that cake they made for me, I'm starving."

Suki rolled her eyes. "That's just like you," she said, taking his hand and leading him through the quickly dispersing crowd. "Always thinking with your stomach."

"Hey!" her husband cried as he allowed her to lead him off to the buffet table. "I think with my brain, too!"

She raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? When?"

Zuko and Katara followed the two as Sokka seemed at a loss for words, unable to answer his wife's question. The man could not remember the last time he had thought with his brain. Toph and Aang soon followed behind them as Zuko took his son in his arms and held him tightly. A tuft of brown hair could be seen growing from the top of Adrian's head.

When they arrived in the next room, Katara had Zuko sit down with their son to save them seat while she and the rest of the group went to get food. They were not gone too long and soon he was surrounded by his new family. Toph and Aang sat next to each other given that the two couples in the group only left two seats left at the table that happened to be right next to each other. The German enjoyed feeding his son food when Adrian reached out to the food, indicated he wanted some. Of course, when Adrian reached for his glass of wine, he had to deny his baby son any of it. Alcohol was not something he would willingly give young children.

They remained at the after party for a few more hours until young Adrian grew tired and fell asleep in his father's arms. He nudged Katara who was conversing with Suki and silently told her it was time to go home. She nodded, said her goodbyes and left the building with her husband. The snow was not falling but it did cover the roads quite a bit and their drive home was slow since Zuko did not want to endanger his family by driving too fast. Given the weather, the tires on the automobile would slip easily.

"I noticed that Jet was abnormally kind to you today," Katara said when they arrived at their small house at the edge of the town. "Was it just me, or was he actually starting to treat you like a friend?"

Zuko smiled at his wife when they walked up to the front door to their house. "It was just a show," he replied. "Because he was surrounded by his superiors, he had to pretend that he liked me. Otherwise he would get chewed out."

"I see," his wife replied. She was silent while her husband unlocked the front door and opened it, standing aside to let her and the baby inside first. Zuko hung up his coat and went right to his bedroom while Katara placed the baby in his cradle that they moved to the living room. He was exhausted. His time in Auschwitz had left him physically less capable than he had been beforehand. That was something he had refused to tell Sokka when asked why he did not join the Russian army. It was not just because he figured he was done with the military, it was because his body was done with the military. If he had been physically capable, he would have joined with Sokka in heartbeat. But the weeks of starvation and beatings had rendered him quite incapable.

He sat down with a sigh on the bed he and Katara shared and brought a hand to the scar that covered half his face. The skin here was smooth with no pores to allow for hair to grow or blemishes to appear. In a sense, it was a nice thing to have. It showed that he could withstand anything someone threw his way. But it was also a scar on his memories as well as his skin. He hated how people would stop and stare and make little comments under their breath about how it must have hurt to get a scar like that. They thought he could not hear them, but he could hear every word. It pained him to remember how he got it, how his sister had smashed the oil lamp in his face then keeled over with a bullet hole in her forehead just before she was about to kill him.

He let out another sigh and glanced over to the mirror across from the door to see his wife standing in the doorway, leaning against the door frame. "There's nothing you can do about it. You know that, right?" He turned to look at her and nodded.

"I know. I just wish there was sometimes." Katara walked across the room to sit next to him on the bed.

"Well if you can't get rid of it," she said. "Maybe you can learn to live with it." He glanced at her to see a small smile on her lips. "If it's any consolation, I think you look really hansom with it."

He chuckled. "It is of great satisfaction to me to hear you say that, Katara." He spoke as he absentmindedly leaned closer to her. He leaned his head to the side to look at her. "That is why I married you."

Her smile grew bigger and she leaned in and kissed his lips. "I do hope you married me because you love me, too."

It was his turn to smile. "Of course, that too." She laughed and fell on her back on the bed. He followed her and they lay there for a few minutes in silence before Zuko spoke again. "You know, you're right, Katara," he said, breaking the silence. "I will learn to live with this scar."

She smiled and rolled over to lie on top of his chest. "That's good, maybe your nightmares will cease to exist once you come to terms with it."

"Maybe they will," he said and stretched his neck up to kiss her. She returned his kiss as he rolled her over so he was on top of her. "I love you, Katara."

"And I love you, Zuko," she replied as his fingers began to wrap themselves around the buttons of her dress. She, in turn, started pulling his shirt out from being tucked into his pants.

Meanwhile, young Adrian was sound asleep, unaware of what his parents were doing in their bedroom.

**A/N: Yeah, my imagination is basically shot at this point. I am so tired of this story, I am so glad it's finished. **

**Bleh, please excuse me while I go hang myself. I've basically just used up my entire imagination just for this story. **

**Now I must turn my attentions to other fandoms and stories. Maybe a few oneshots or original stories will help me recover. **

**Review, please!**


End file.
